


Be One

by AndromedaofOthys



Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV), SEVENTEEN (Band), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Broduce boys stick together, Fanmeets, Gen, Jealousy, Mnet being a snake, NU'EST brother bond, Sasaeng Fan(s), Wanna One and Be One
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2019-08-17 01:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 35,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16506239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndromedaofOthys/pseuds/AndromedaofOthys
Summary: I.O.I. had their opposite: I.B.I., the unchosen girls.Why wouldn't Wanna One have their own opposite? How would the boys react? And just why would Mnet allow something like this?P.S. I'm aware of JBJ, but for the sake of this fic, I'll ignore their existence.





	1. The propostion is given (Jonghyun, Minki and Dongho)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Want One (Produce 101 Alt. Universe)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11574273) by [monbebemuseum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/monbebemuseum/pseuds/monbebemuseum). 



> I never planned to write this: normally I can't stand RPF, let alone write it. However, I just finished (sort-of) watching PD101 S2, and it attacked my L.O./\\.E heart so much, I felt the need to write my frustrations out. Also, I blame [ Angel Leader Kim Jonghyun ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15883020/chapters/37009314) and [ Want One (Produce 101 Alt. Universe) ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11574273) for giving me ideas in the first place.  
> Also, I consider it a Ren-birthday gift fic (happy b-day, uri Ren!), and I have absolutely no idea when I'll be updating this or will I leave it as it is.

“Number fourteen is…”

The waiting was excruciating. Ten names already called, and now four more vying for that last, eleventh spot on the podium. Kim Jonghyun had half a mind to march up to the staff, demand the microphone and shout to the Mnet editors to cut the crap out and just tell them who made it. He knew he had good chances, but going up against his NU’EST teammate, ‘ _Sexy Bandit_ ’ Kang Dongho, ‘ _Super Hot_ ’ center Ha Sungwoon and _Starship_ ’s vocal powerhouse Jeong Sewoon? There was no predicting the rankings.

“It’s me,” Dongho murmured, playing with the lapel of his blazer. “I’m the least popular of you all.”

“Like hell, Mr. Sexy Bandit,” Minki quipped from behind, and Jonghyun had to stop himself from turning to the _maknae_ of NU’EST. “They’ll vote you in for sure.”

He could hear tears in his voice, and the old need to comfort their Ren-flower came back with vengeance. Really, out of all four of them, Ren should’ve had the greatest chance for debuting: flower-boy visuals, great sense of musicality, soft and adaptable vocals, personality that was born for variety shows… and now he wasn’t even in the first fourteen, due to Mnet’s habit of editing him out except when he cried.  _Stop it, Jonghyun!_ He scolded himself internally. He wasn’t JR, Dongho wasn’t Baekho, and Minki wasn’t Ren here. They were _Pledis yeonsusaengs_ , hopefuls for debuting, not already established idols desperate for their last chance. Minhyun, their princely vocal and visual, kept looking anxiously at them from his ninth-place chair, and Jonghyun could see prayers and hope in his eyes.

“ _Pledis…_ ”

Jonghyun jumped a bit at BoA’s announcement and shared a quick look with Dongho. He then looked towards the Nation’s Representative, and he caught a small grimace on her face as she looked at her cue card.

 _It’s me,_ Jonghyun realized with a cold feeling in his chest. _She wouldn’t have made such a face if it was Dongho._

_I’m sorry, Minhyun-nie. You’ll have to debut without me._

“Kim Jonghyun _yeonsusaeng._ ”

He summoned a small, reassuring smile as he bowed to the suddenly quieter crowd and accepted pats and condolences from the other boys. Minki’s lip was wobbling a bit, but his eyes were clear with what looked like a sliver of hope.

_You’re not leaving me._

_Never,_ he tried to tell his favorite member through his smile.

“You okay?” Dongho whispered, and Jonghyun nodded before turning to see Wanna One boys’ reactions.

Predictably, Daniel looked ready to jump out of his seat and demand an explanation. The Busan center had been very sensitive to fair play since his misstep during concept evaluations, and the two connected well during their time in _Sorry, Sorry_ team. Seongwoo, Woojin and Daehwi’s jaws were about detach from their skulls, and Jonghyun had to calm his former teammates down by smiling at them. Jisung, Jihoon and Jinyoung, who he never worked directly but still held connections with Minki and Dongho, were the calm before the storm: fake smiles fixed on their faces and fire blazing in their eyes – _why haven’t they chosen you? Are they stupid?_

Minhyun, though… his eyes were wide, the light in them nearly gone. His Minhyun- _nie_ _eomma_ , the man who was always animated and ready to go, the one to yell at them for their messiness and laugh at their unfunny jokes, looked like he was slowly dying on the inside.

 _I’m sorry, Minhyun-nie_ , Jonghyun tried to tell him without opening his mouth. _But I believe in you. Don’t worry, we’re not angry._

And that was one sentiment he knew every member here shared. They came here at the verge of disbandment: even seeing one member debut again meant world to them.

“Number thirteen… _Pledis_ Kang Dongho _yeonsusaeng._ ”

And with those words, the light finally went out. Minki had to slam a hand on Jonghyun’s shoulder to stop him from moving off their platform.

“Stop it!” Minki hissed.

“Jonghyun _hyung?_ ” Seonho whispered, and Jonghyun finally snapped back to the reality.

The looks from the seven boys standing on the platform with him were chock-full of concern and unshed tears. Samuel’s shoulders were shaking slightly; Ahn Hyeongseop and Yoo Seonho’s eyes were glistening. Im Youngmin’s lips were tightly drawn, Joo Haknyeon’s hands were clenched together, and Dongho’s and Minki’s eyes were blank, just like Minhyun’s.

Jonghyun instantly felt guilty. How could he forget about these boys? Dongho and Minki could deal with it: the hurt that came with being overlooked, overshadowed, unloved by the public was all too familiar to them. Samuel had also experienced a similar situation, so he had some faith in him, but others? Seonho was a chick trainee, Hyeongseop a former A class star; Haknyeon came with lofty dreams, and Youngmin had once competed with him for the spot of No. 1 rapper. They had never experienced the fall from grace like NU’EST, HOTSHOT and 2Punch had, and Jonghyun had to work fast to reassure them.

“No, _hyung_ ,” Samuel stopped him before he could open his mouth. “Don’t you dare be _Angel Leader_ now. Not after what they,” and here he shot a poisonous look at the cheering crowd, “have done to you.”

“We’ll take care of them,” Minki’s voice was stable now. “Rest for a damn second, JR- _ie_.”

So now he was back to that, huh? Not Jonghyun, not _Pledis_ trainee, but JR, idol and leader of NU’EST – for however long they survive after tonight. Was it ever going to be the same, even if they continue?

He closed his eyes, unable to cope with the pressure with his eyes open.

* * *

  
Minki could not help himself: his throat constricted as BoA called Ha Sungwoon as the eleventh lucky boy to debut with Wanna One. Minhyun- _nie_ looked ready to lurch forward and escape from the studio before the tears fell from his eyes. The look wasn’t unfamiliar: Minhyun looked ready to bolt at the beginning too, before they stepped outside for company evaluations. To see that look in his eyes again… Minki cursed nation’s producers liberally in his head as he hugged Hyeonseop and Haknyeon, trying in vain to reassure them that yes, they were amazing, and no, just because they weren’t up there it didn’t mean they couldn’t become idols. _We are in top 20, people are definitely gonna get interested, I promise you!_

He couldn’t even find it in himself to feel guilty for little white lies. Yes, people will be interested in them, but there was still no guarantee for their debut – but he wouldn’t tell them that now, not when they had to see their dreams being smashed into million pieces by nation’s producers and their pain broadcasted for the entire world to see. Minki was not unaware of the massive international audience this season of Produce 101 attracted: with inclusion of more Chinese and Japanese trainees, and ‘failed idols’ like him and his brothers, Samuel and HOTSHOT being there, it was to be expected.

He had seen enough posts about how unfair it was to not allow international fans to vote, since they’d be buying CDs and merch just like Korean fans to contribute to the trainees’ fame, but he understood Mnet’s reasons. The things between the three giants in the East were always tense, and once you added their messy history in the mix, opening an international vote would be equal to social suicide: you couldn’t forbid people from those countries to vote, after all.

Nevertheless, he wished there was some sort of consolation prize for the ‘failures’, some safety net the eliminated boys could fall back onto.

“The boys in front of me and behind me are all very talented, and came a long way,” BoA’s voice returned the boys’ focus on the proceedings. “Unfortunately, the debut can only be promised to the first eleven.”

Here, the famous singer paused, giving camera a significant look, and Minki narrowed his eyes, clutching his _dongsaengs_ closer as if to protect them from harm. Was she implying what he thought she was implying? If not, it was truly a cruel way to play with both the boys and the audience.

_Spit it out, damn Mnet and their theatrics!_

“However…” BoA looked at her cue cards. “Nation’s producers have raised a good question during the voting period. What will happen to their beloved boys who don’t get in?”

The question was obviously directed at Samuel and Jonghyun, who were very popular for their images of charming _dongsaeng_ dancer/choreographer and Nation’s Leader- _hyung_ , but Minki felt his hopes rise a little as well. Haknyeon and Hyeongseop also perked up.

“Hwang Minhyun- _hoobae,_ ” BoA suddenly addressed the only _Pledis_ boy sitting in the eleven blue chairs. “Why do you think nation’s producers would ask that question?”

One of the staff members passed Minhyun the microphone while the camera focused on his shell-shocked face. The _Hwanggallyang_ had to take a few deep breaths before opening his mouth.

“I think nation’s producers realized how much our success depended on others’ help,” Minhyun dropped it out there, and Minki did not bother hiding his smile. That was his Minhyun- _nie_ , subtly roasting everyone while still sounding like an utter angel. “Every trainee in this room tonight helped us eleven rise up: leading us, choreographing for us, making us laugh to the point we needed to slap them to stop spewing out jokes and jabs -”

Minki giggled at the well-pointed yet subtle jab at him. Minhyun had indeed slapped him during the concept evaluations after he made one crack too many about the fact Seonho had stuck to him like a Velcro strip. He had apologized immediately, but Minki had managed to snap him out of his ‘sulking’ state as was the plan.

Also, he got a goodnight kiss from Jonghyun for that stunt, so…

“-and so much more. I’m glad nation’s producers recognized it.”

“Well said,” BoA’s smile set alarms off in Minki’s head. “Nation’s producers have indeed noted the teamwork that was present throughout the entire show and demanded of us another group.”

 _Another group._ This was too good to be true.

Minki instinctively glanced towards his bandmates and Samuel. Jonghyun looked suspicious as well, Dongho was a mix of surprise and wariness, and Samuel looked like he was waiting for someone to call ‘April’s Fool!’ on them.

There was never a second group officially coming out of Produce 101. Yes, I.O.I. had I.B.I., but it wasn’t sponsored by Mnet – it was more of a collaboration project to see how popular the ‘reject girls’ were by smaller companies.

Why were they breaking their own rules for them?

“I.O.I., I.B.I. … the tradition will continue. Wanna One will have Be One as their opposite.”

It was a good name. _Be One_ , a reference to the sense of unity that pervaded the entire show. As much as staff and Mnet’s editing tried to put it in a different light, the boys were really tight with each other. Every elimination crashed on them harder exactly because of that.

However…

_What about Aron-hyung?_

Minki, Dongho and Jonghyun’s futures suddenly had a new possibility opening in front of them, and it would be foolish not to go for it. But leaving their brother all alone, it rubbed Minki the wrong way. Of course, the air-headed dolt would tell them to go for it and be happy for them, but the unofficial rule of NU’EST dorm was _no one gets left behind._

How could they even choose?

* * *

 

Kang Dongho was in a bind, both mentally and physically.

Physically, he was stuck in a sandwich between Seonho, who had decided he was the closest thing he would get to Guanlin and Minhyun and attached himself to Dongho like a limpet, and Samuel, his first _dongsaeng_ and currently the only non- _Pledis_ trainee who looked like he had smelled a rat somewhere in the deal BoA proposed.

 _Of course he did, he lived with Seungcheol-ie and his merry band for a year_ , the older man snorted inwardly. The number of times _SEVENTEEN_ tried to pull a prank over their NU’EST _hyungs_ and Orange Caramel and After School _noonas_ …

Speaking of which, he had spotted Seungcheol in the mass of people, near Minhyun-nie’s sister. Even with his designer sunglasses and a baseball cap on, Dongho would recognize the almost-NU’EST member and _SEVENTEEN_ leader anywhere. The silent support in the action warmed Dongho’s heart. Their _hoobaes_ always did their best to help in any way they could: the number of nights Jonghyun and Seungcheol spent together lamenting about the antics of their children had long since gone over a thousand. Aron and Joshua sometimes got so homesick they’d sneak into one of their dorms and spend the night chatting in English non-stop, occasionally allowing Vernon, Jun and Minghao in to bond over their foreigner status. Dongho himself loved spending time in the studio with Woozi and Seungkwan, composing music and stretching their vocals by rising the starting note for some of their most challenging lines, just to see who could hit the highest note before going into screeching territory. Minki and Jeonghan were an unholy tornado of pretty faces and devilish thoughts, who loved to start messes and then leave it to more responsible people like Hoshi and Minhyun to pick the aftermath up and shout the dorms down…

But he was digressing. Seungcheol’s presence could not chase away the sheer terror of the prospect BoA had laid out for the nine leftover boys. Nation’s producers demanding another group, a rival to the chosen Wanna One? There had to be a catch somewhere, particularly when you looked at the people that would make up the new group.

Jonghyun was a direct opposite to both Jisung and Daniel as both leader and the most popular member. Dongho and Sewoon were splitting Jaehwan’s spot as main vocalist, with Seonho, Haknyeon and Samuel to back them up as lead and sub-vocalists in Jihoon’s, Sungwoon’s, Jisung’s and Minhyun’s place. Youngmin was an obvious reflection of Guanlin and Woojin’s rapper position with Jonghyun’s help, while Minki and Hyeongseop served as visuals and easy-to-recognize centers in Daniel’s, Seongwoo’s and Jinyoung’s stead.

Oh yes, there had to be a catch somewhere. There was no way they’d let them form up a group this powerful. Mnet wasn’t that nice or giving.

“Can we have a minute to talk it over, Representative BoA?”

 _Oh thank God for Jonghyun-nie_ , Dongho thought with relief as he pushed Samuel and Seonho closer to the center. Minki and Jonghyun mimicked his action, forming a loose barrier between their _dongsaengs_ and the rest of the world.

“Where’s the catch?” Samuel instantly demanded, and Seonho flinched a little.

“I don’t know, Muel- _yah_ ,” Jonghyun sighed, running his hand through his hair. “If they demanded us to form a group… I honestly don’t know where the catch is.”

“So what do we do?” Haknyeon wrought his hands. “Should we accept it?”

 _Aron hyung?_ Minki mouthed at Dongho, and the vocalist flinched at the reminder.

What should they do? Step out, join their NU’EST brother and leave these boys in Samuel’s and Sewoon’s care, or help them out again, like they had for the last four months? Should they think of their individual careers, or truly become the epitome of their possible group name, _Be One_?

 _There was the catch they’d been looking for_ , Dongho realized with sinking heart. _This was the drama Mnet was searching for this entire time._

_Stay, or leave? What bonds hold stronger for them: the ones formed before Produce, or the ones formed under these spotlights?_

The answer was nearly impossible to find, and yet they were expected to give it to BoA in less than a minute.

_How?_


	2. The decision has to be made (Seungcheol, Daniel and Aron)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see some reactions to the propositon of creating Be One.  
> Note: to clear up any confusion, the nicknamess in the chat:  
> Shua: Jisoo/Joshua  
> Minnie: Seokmin/DK  
> Tyrant: Jihoon/Woozi  
> Eomma: Jeonghan  
> Kwan: Seungkwan  
> Soon: Soonyoung/Hoshi  
> Hannie: Hansol/Vernon  
> Gyu: Mingyu  
> Jun: Junhui/Jun  
> Hao: Minghao/The8  
> Chan: Chan/Dino  
> Woo: Wonwoo  
> Appa: Seungcheol/S.Coups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, why am I so weak when I see people commenting and bookmarking my things? Thanks a lot, peeps. Now I have this fic stuck in my head, and I have no idea where it'll go but I know I have to finish it properly. So... *slow clap*

Seungcheol clapped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from cursing out loud as his phone rang for _millionth time_. There were bound to be CARATs nearby, and he had no illusions about the fickleness of the fans. He just had to look at his _hyungs_ and _sunbaes_ NU'EST to know how fickle public's approval was, and he and his kids couldn't afford scandals.

After digging through his pockets, he fished out his phone and checked the group chat that kept blowing up ever since they announced Jonghyun- _nie_ 's placement. His kids organized a watch party in their dorm with Aron, Pristin and the remains of After School _noonas_ having their own party in Pledis' HQ, and they commented as things unfolded in front of everyone's eyes.

_Shua: WHAAAA???_

_Minnie: Are they serious? Another group?_

_Tyrant: There's no way this will end well. All twenty of them bound to CJ E &M, even temporary? The companies won't allow that._

_Eomma: No shit. JFC, Cheolie, how are you holding up?_

_Kwan: I can't believe this. Look at Muel-yah! He looks so pale..._

_Soon: Wow, Muel-ie changed a lot! But yeah, he looks a little sick... omo, look at Minhyun-nie! And Dongho's kid!_

_Hannie: Oh Lord... their kid is there with our hyungs, right? Yoo Seonho?_

_Soon: Yup. C'mon, Minhyun-nie, don't do anything stupid, please!_

_Gyu: Stupid as in, run down the podium and hug them?_

_Jun: Exactly!_

_Soon: Yes!!_

_Hao: Oh crap, I can read kid's lips... that Cube chick is lucky he doesn't have mics anywhere near him._

_Jun: What are you... nevermind, I gotcha. Kid don't do that!_

_Chan: What's he doing? Cursing?_

_Hao: Like you wouldn't believe, and boy, he's colorful! Wait... I think he changed the language... English? Shua, Hannie, help?_

_Hannie: Yep, switched to English. Kid, you're so lucky I'm not anywhere near, that mouth needs washing out!_

_Shua: Whoaaaa... Aron just repeated some of the curses and Hannie slapped him. They're nasty! How does a hatchling like him even know this sort of words?_

_Eomma: Cheolie, you better start answering these messages or I'm calling you, cameras be damned._

Seungcheol snorted but started typing. This was Jeonghan; he would do that despite the consequences.

_Appa: Relax, Jeonghan, I'm okay. Jonghyun-nie is not, though. Nor are Minki and Dongho. How's Aron?_

_Chan: Holding okay so far._

_Gyu: If you call looking like he wants to drown himself in the glass of coke okay._

_Tyrant: Be less blunt, Mingyu. Even if it is the truth._

_Woo: Rich, coming from you. But seriously, he looks miserable._

_Minnie: Yeah, he really does._

_Chan: Poor Aron-hyung._

_Soon: Hey, they're still talking about it. Cheolie, any updates?_

Seungcheol glanced at the boys huddled around their youngest members, Samuel and Seonho. NU'EST members had a pinched expression on their faces, but the rest of them looked hopeful. Seungcheol wanted to snort. _Kids, it ain't gonna be that easy. There has to be something else behind this._

It was how this type of shows functioned. They relied on drama, presenting seemingly harmless choices that would later get the choosers truckful of hate comments and bad press. In fact, Seungcheol could already see two traps for the 'reject boys': one from their companies, and one from Mnet and the public.

If they say yes, some companies might react badly. Seungcheol did not claim _Pledis Entertainment_ was the best or most caring company out there, but once you had their support, you were golden. However, perceived betrayal was not taken lightly: Kahi, Lizzy and Uee _noonas_ faced so many hoops to jump through once they decided they wanted to leave After School, and Seungcheol could already think of a few ways _Sangjanim_ could make Minki's, Dongho's and Jonghyun's lives difficult. He could bet other companies would do that, too.

If they say no, however, it would be portrayed as them being ungrateful, likely ruining their nascent careers before they even got to debut or in NU'EST's case, recanting all the support they had been given so far. And boy, was the support astonishing. _SEVENTEEN_ kept track of NU'EST's ratings and album selling and digitals records, and the explosion of people interested in once-failed idol group was just ridiculous. Their _hyungs_ touched people's hearts, and Seungcheol could not find it in himself to be truly angry at _Pledis_ for sending them to this stupid show or for NU'EST for jumping at the chance.

He could be angry at Mnet and general public, however, and he fully planned to log in tonight on his fan account (made in secret, for _SEVENTEEN_ ’s use only on NU’EST’s fansites) and post a long, rambling message about the unfairness of this charade. You either tell people at the beginning there'll be two groups or let them go their own way and figure out how to take advantage of the newfound fame, not leave them hanging like this.

_Jonghyun,_ Seungcheol wished his friend would look at him to read his plea in his eyes. _Please keep them safe. I trust you._

* * *

Daniel's heart was currently sharing space with his larynx, which made breathing a little difficult. You know, just a little.

_Jonghyun!_ He wished he could shout to the boys, get their attention, but no, he had to sit here, on an oversized chair that felt far too high and lonely, and pretend he felt nothing as he saw his future teammates suffer from slow mental breakdowns.

Seongwoo, the master of facial expression, had fixed on his _I don’t care_ expression, but Daniel had already seen how close he was to erupting, eyes flickering between Minhyun and Jonghyun. Daehwi and Guanlin, their _maknaes_ , were vibrating in their seats, desperate to get closer to their _hyungs_ , while the rest of them looked like statues carved out of white marble. Minhyun in particular looked like a statue, barely even blinking and looking even more distant and royalty-like than ever before.

_Damn them! Why couldn’t they let at least one more NU’EST member debut with Minhyun?_

“Well, boys?” BoA called an end to the consulting, and Daniel focused on Jonghyun.

Well, maybe it was presumptuous to think Jonghyun would take the reins as the leader, but he was the oldest one and the one with the most experience. Dongho just didn’t like leading, and Minki’s type of leadership, if Jihoon was to be trusted, was more of a mother taking care of her kids or older brother leading younger siblings.

The _Angel Leader_ lived up to his reputation, motioning for the staff to give him the mic, other boys falling into a loose triangle formation. Daniel felt his eyebrows climb at the positions the trainees took. Samuel and Minki stood on Jonghyun’s right and left side, Sewoon and Dongho slightly behind him; Seohno and Hyeonseop were pushed closer to the center with Youngmin and Haknyeon acting as the buffers for their _maknae_ and flanking Samuel and Minki respectively.

_You just can’t leave things half-done, can you hyung?_ Daniel shook his head fondly at the move that screamed Jonghyun. Truly, NU’EST leader was one of the best leaders he had ever seen, both in the industry and out of it.

He could only hope their leader – Jisung most likely, due to his age – would be as good at taking control of the situation in the future.

“Thank you for giving us time,” Jonghyun said with a deep bow to both BoA and the people in the audience, who shrieked and cheered for the leader. “We are grateful for the chance you’ve given us. It’s really an honor.” Here he smiled softly at the camera, and Daniel could practically hear _noonas_ collapsing from heart attacks all over Korea. “But… we’re a bit worried.”

Daniel froze at the choice of words and the pause Jonghyun took after them. Oh, this was not good. If Jonghyun was picking words like this…

“When we entered here,” Jonghyun sighed, eyes closing, “we accepted the fact most of us would never even stand on this stage, let alone sit in those chairs.” Daniel spotted the cameras turning to the eliminated trainees sitting in the stands, their faces painted with worry. “We knew what we were getting ourselves into. As much as I’d like to debut with everyone I’ve met here,” here he paused to wave to Hyunbin, Taemin and Moonbok, the three eliminated boys from _Sorry, Sorry_ and _Fear_ teams. “As much as I’d like to debut with them, I knew that wouldn’t happen. There are only so many seats and places guaranteed to form a new group.”

Daniel found himself nodding along. His former leader spoke sensibly, but without accusations to anyone. Damn, he wanted to learn how to speak like this!

“So… what makes me so different?” Jonghyun finally let loose the poison arrow. “What makes any of us so different that nation’s producers want us to form another official group? I’m scared,” Jonghyun admitted matter-of-factly, and Daniel had to swallow a surprised gasp, his respect for the other rising hundred-fold. “I’m scared this is a mirage that will evaporate tomorrow and leave me and my boys with nothing but empty promises and broken hearts.” Here he gulped and cast his eyes down, but Daniel caught a brief flash of tears sliding down his cheeks. “I don’t want to see sadness and hurt in their eyes again.”

_Oh, crap._

Daniel had underestimated just how effectively Jonghyun could hit you in the heart with his words. He had seen it briefly with Hyunbin, and other NU’EST boys told others on a few occasions just how good Jonghyun was at making an impact with words alone, but this… this was pulled out of nowhere, and it hurt all the more for it. There was no pre-written speech, no preparation, just one man speaking for a group of boys from his heart.

Now, the only thing left was the response, and Daniel could not predict it at all.

In that moment, he felt he could understand Jonghyun’s fear perfectly, and that scared him even more.

Was this how idols with unsure futures always felt?

Was being an idol worth it, after all?

* * *

_Be still, my heart._

Aron clasped his hands together, praying for the agonizing wait to be over. He couldn’t take it anymore: this separation and inability to stand with his brothers as they had to make a choice that would decide their and his future in NU’EST.

Selfishly, he wanted them to refuse the offer, or maybe a bit less selfishly, to sign on only for six months. He couldn’t continue living like this. His _dongsaengs_ tried everything to cheer him up, and Aron appreciated the effort, but his only consolation right now would be to hear his brothers’ voices and see their faces in person.

_Please, let this be just another nightmare,_ Aron prayed fervently. _Tomorrow, I’ll wake up and realize I only lost Minhyun, and Jonghyun, Minki and Dongho are coming back home. Please._

_I don’t want to be left behind._

“Aaron?” Joshua whispered, the different pronunciation of his name alerting Aron to the fact the other boy was speaking in English. “Are we bothering you?”

Aron shook his head but refused to lift his gaze up. Jonghyun had just finished his little speech, and Aron’s arms were twitching to hug his leader and let him lean for once on his _hyung_. How familiar this must’ve felt to his leader: first the recognition and adoration, then abandonment, and then a trap disguised as salvation he would willing walk into to save his family.

Stupid Mnet and their last-minute rule changes!

“ _I see,_ ” BoA spoke on the broadcast, and Aron forced himself to look at the older singer. Her face was grave but revealed nothing more. “ _But you have not given us a clear answer, Kim Jonghyun yeonsusaeng._ ”

“ _I have no clear answer,_ ” Jonghyun replied promptly. “ _I wish I could promise nation’s producers I would form and lead Be One without any reservations. I wish I could present my answer in a clear-cut way, but I can’t. I want to succeed, but I cannot do it if it would mean Wanna One would get sidelined for us. They sacrificed so much and got producers’ attention exactly because of that: I can’t just come in and take it away from them because someone likes me, Minki, Samuel, or any other boy behind me more than the chosen eleven._ ”

“Stupid!” Soonyoung shouted at the screen, fists clenched.

“Stop being a fool and say you don’t want it!” Hansol agreed, and their fury spread out to the other _SEVENTEEN_ members. “Stop making it sound so self-sacrificing!”

“Too late,” Jihoon sighed. “They’ve already latched on that self-sacrificing streak of his, and they won’t let him go so easy.”

“He can’t say no directly, either,” Jeonghan bit his lip. “He’d look like an ungrateful brat and shoot himself and the rest of our _hyungs_ in the foot even if he returns to us.”

“Why can’t things be simple?!” Chan’s question neatly summed up Aron’s state of being.

Why couldn’t things be simple? Wanna One is Minhyun’s future; NU’EST Jonghyun’s, Minki’s, Aron’s and Dongho’s. Why were fans so selfish?

“ _A true idol and Angel Leader to the bitter end,_ ” Boa chuckled without any true mirth. “ _Very well. Your reservations are valid, but we still need a clear, if temporary, answer._ ”

“Shit!” Wonwoo cursed, and Hansol screeched at him for language, but the rapper couldn’t care less. “She’s forcing his hand!”

“He’ll say yes,” Seungkwan predicted morosely. “If it was just him and other _hyungs_ , the answer would be obvious. But those kids… Jonghyun’s weak for the kids.”

Indeed, Jonghyun had a soft spot for both kids and trainees. He had helped Aron out so much when he first came to Korea, teaching him how to dance and behave like an idol, practicing Korean with him until wee hours in the morning and so much more. Of course the idiot would stay for them.

Aron wished he was hurt more. He wished for betrayal to grace his thoughts, pain of abandonment to consume him.

Instead, the only feeling coursing through his veins was quiet acceptance. He had always been the least impressive member, overshadowed by Jonghyun’s stronger rap, Minhyun’s angelic voice, Minki’s pretty-boy visuals and Dongho’s sheer presence on stage. He had been stomaching this for as long as could remember.

As long as his members, his brothers, called him every once in a while and kept up-to-date with whatever he would be doing, he would be happy. Heck, just seeing them smile, truly smile and not in a polite way, would make his day.

It wasn’t healthy, but then who in NU’EST was a healthy, stable individual? They all had their issues that they ignored by focusing on their bond, growing so co-dependent Aron feared the day one of them would pass away and leave them forever.

“ _I…_ ” Jonghyun paused for a bit on the broadcast. “ _I, and the boys, will accept your offer._ ”

_Good luck, hyungs. Don’t forget me._

_I hope I’m not asking for much._


	3. Weathering the storm (Samuel, Seongwoo, Jeonghan)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some reactions from the companies! How will _Pledis_ , the company who stands to lose the most, react? Also, we get to hear just how and why Minhyun was elected as Wanna One's father figure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my reviewers kindly pointed out I said Aron called NU'EST boys 'hyungs', which technically isn't correct since he's the oldest. Mea culpa :( I have a couple more things to fix in first chapter too, so I'll fix it soon!

The first call, surprisingly enough, did not come from _Pledis_. Samuel had expected it to be so, since not one, but _three_ of their artists would be in the unplanned new group, but it wasn't to be.

After the crying, excessive hugging and shoulder-patting between Wanna One and Be One was over, the boys were ushered into the waiting rooms and given their phones to contact their companies and figure out this new arrangement. The moment the staff left them in the room, Hyeongseop's phone rang, and the _Yuehua Entertainment_ trainee's cheeks became pallid as he saw the number on the screen.

“Hyeongseop- _ah_?” Minki whispered, zeroing in on the more delicate of the two of his _Oh Little Girl_ children in the room. “What’s wrong?”

“ _Sajangnim_ is calling me,” the boy looked physically ill as he spoke. “Not my manager, but _Sajangnim himself_.”

“Oh my God,” flew out of Samuel’s mouth in place of a curse he was thinking of. Vernon _hyung_ would find him and flay him if he started swearing, but damn it, this situation called for some good ones!

“Oh no,” Jonghyun all but teleported himself next to the shaky trainee, hugging him and catching his other hand between his palms. “C’mon, calm down, Hyeongseop- _ah_. Deep breaths, like that,” their leader cooed. “That’s right. Calm down, answer the phone and put it on the speaker. I’ll help you, okay?”

Hyeongseop nodded briefly and pressed the ‘answer’.

“ _Yoboseyo, Hyeongseop-ssi_ ,” came a cold voice from the other side, and Samuel shivered. He had never interacted with _Pledis’_ _Sajangnim_ , but according to Seungcheol _hyung_ , he was about as kind as _Brave Entertainment_ one: relatively warm most of the time, unless you managed to screw up spectacularly. This one, however… this one sounded like a block of ice, and in Samuel’s experience, that was never a good thing.

“ _Yoboseyo_ , _Sajangnim_ ,” Hyeongseop whispered.

“ _I see you failed to debut with Wanna One._ ” Samuel and other younger boys winced on Hyeongseop’s behalf, Jonghyun squeezed the boy’s shoulder’s tighter, and Minki looked ready to start a murder spree with Dongho’s backing. “ _But I suppose you were not a complete failure._ ”

“Thank you,” Hyeongseop stuttered out. “I – thank you.”

“ _Don’t thank me yet, Hyeongseop-ssi,_ ” the other man drawled, the tone not warming up in the slightest. “ _Yuehua will back this new group, but I would not get my hopes in your place: not every company will allow their trainees to debut with you. Be ready for disappointment._ ”

A clicking tone of finished phone call echoed eerily in the silent room.

“Asshole,” Minki was the first one to break the spell. “That man is an utter asshole. Hell, he should be happy you’ll get recognition and promotion without having to pay a single won!”

 “Minki,” Dongho sighed, placing his hand on the fellow idol-turned-trainee. “Please don’t. We’ll have enough to worry about when our _Sajangnim_ calls us.”

Jonghyun nodded in agreement and sent Hyeongseop straight into Minki’s arms, where the younger boy curled into a ball and let his _hyung_ pet his hair and coo nonsense into his ear.

The next call came from _Brand New Music_ for Im Youngmin, who tensed as he answered, opting not to put his boss on the speaker.

“ _Yoboseyo…_ No… No, I’m okay with this… what? But… _Sangjanim_ , please… No, he’s not like that at all! Please, _Sajangnim_ , Jonghyun _hyung_ only wanted the best for us…”

“Give me,” Jonghyun motioned to the other rapper to give him the phone. “I’ll talk with him if he has problems with me.”

“Careful, _hyung,_ ” Samuel warned him, dread pooling in his stomach. _If Brand New Music was opposing this... how will Brave and Pledis react?_

Jonghyun gave them all a thumbs-up before taking the phone from Youngmin.

“ _Yoboseyo Sajangnim,_ Kim Jonghyun here. Yes, Youngmin- _nie_ is here with me and the rest of the boys… No, I don’t… No, and frankly, I couldn’t care less. You have Daehwi- _nie_ and Woojin- _nie_ debuting in Wanna One. Why wouldn’t Youngmin… oh, I see. Well, that’s unfortunate.” Here, Jonghyun smirked darkly, and everyone barring his NU’EST teammates flinched away.

“ _Hyung_ looks scary,” Seonho muttered to Dongho, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

“He _is_ scary,” Haknyeon looked spooked. “ _Angel Leader_? More like _Demon Leader_.”

“Ah, that’s nothing,” Dongho shook his head with a fond smile. “Wait till you see Minki when he’s honestly angry or frustrated. No one dares to come anywhere near him in that state.”

Minki looked far too happy with the description.

“I mean, unfortunate for you,” Jonghyun continued talking, getting everyone’s attention. “Have you mentioned that by any chance to Mnet or CJ E&M when you were signing that contract?... I see. So you never believed he would make it?” Youngmin winced, eyes shimmering, and Samuel itched to console his _hyung_. “That still means you lack the crucial signature on that contract. Look, I can vouch for his place in _Be One_ for the next six months, since that’s the shortest contract they can give us without offending anyone. Six months is more than enough time to prepare a good comeback, and he’ll have hype of being part of this team as he comes in… Yes. No. No. Why?” A short pause. “If you want that sort of information, _Pledis’_ official phone is listed on the webpage. I am not and will never be the official representative of _Pledis_ _Entertainment_. Goodbye, _Sajangnim_.” With that, he ended the call.

“That was a sick burn,” Minki chirped, motioning for Youngmin to come sit between him and Dongho. “Nice job, Jonghyun.”

“I don’t know,” Jonghyun sighed, running his hand through his hair. “They pulled a nasty trick with Youngmin’s contract, and if Mnet catches on it, there’ll be hell to pay. Who’s left?”

“ _Cre.Ker, Cube, Pledis, Starship_ and _Brave_ ,” Sewoon counted on his fingers. “Well, _Starship_ will probably support me, since I don’t fit into the _group idol visual_ category.”

“Same for _Brave_ ,” Samuel frowned a little. “They might make a fuss, but they’ll probably let me.”

“I don’t know,” Seonho bit his lower lip. “My manager never told me anything about after Produce.”

“Same,” Haknyeon muttered.

“Well, _Pledis_ won’t be happy,” Dongho grumbled. “Losing four out of five NU’EST members? That’ll be a bit too much for them to swallow.”

“If we get a six-month contract, we can reason with them,” Jonghyun said with a determined face. “It’s not a long time, and none of our contracts will expire in that time period.”

In that moment, Samuel’s and Haknyeon’s phone rang, and the _Brave_ trainee swallowed.

Time to face the music.

* * *

  
“When can we see them? When?”

Guanlin was slowly getting on Seongwoo’s nerves. Okay, he could understand why the kid was so worried, but this way would get them no answers.

“Guanlin- _ah,_ please sit down,” Jisung begged, the newly appointed leader looking ready to resign any second. “Seonho- _yah_ and Dongho- _nie_ will be okay. They’ll tell us when they finish talking with their companies.”

The _maknae_ pouted but relented, plopping down between Minhyun and Sungwoon and promptly curling up to the _Pledis_ boy. The two were the only silent ones, only exchanging significant looks and occasional pats on the knee. Jaehwan was leaning on Minhyun’s other side and talking with Daehwi, who flanked Sungwoon. Jisung, Daniel and Seongwoo were huddled together as well, as were Woojin, Jihoon and Jinyoung. They had dragged the three couches in the room in a triangle to be closer, to try and bond before they left for their official dorms and to wait for the news on _Be One_.

 _Be One_. The name still gave Seongwoo shivers.

He couldn’t believe his ears when BoA announced Jonghyun as the 14th placer, dashing all his hopes of debuting with the best leader one could possibly ask for. Don’t get him wrong, he liked Sungwoon, even though he was far more obvious in his desperation to save HOTSHOT than NU’EST was, but he still low-key wished he could’ve gotten another _Pledis_ boy in the roster.

Jonghyun would be ideal, but he had nothing against either Minki or Dongho – in fact, he’d have _loved_ to have the hilarious NU’EST _maknae_ in his team, if only to drive Jisung and Minhyun insane with their antics. That boy knew exactly how to be funny without seeming fake, and it was the perfect type of attitude Seongwoo could work with to make his jokes and impromptu skits even better. That _shoulder gangsta_ move? Seongwoo _wished_ he had thought of that, much less execute it with such nonchalance and make it look so cool.

Now, though, they might have a chance of debuting together (sort of)… if the companies agree to that, and Seongwoo could not help but feel a bit skeptical. Some he could see letting their trainees peacefully, but some, namely _Pledis_ and _Cube_ , will most certainly throw a tantrum.

The door opening distracted him from his spiraling thoughts.

“Minhyun _hyung_?” Seonho was at the door, wringing his hands. “ _Pledis Sajangnim_ called, and he asked to talk with you too.”

Seongwoo’s heart skipped a beat. Why would the _Sangjanim_ want to talk to Minhyun? His debut was a done deal, right? Nothing to talk about there.

Minhyun did not look surprised, though.

“It’s OK,” he patted Seongwoo on the shoulder. “NU’EST always talks with _Sajangnim_ together, unless it’s seriously private. It’ll be fine.”

With those words, the man fondly nicknamed _Hwang CEO_ left the room, following Seonho’s lead.

“Damn, I’m jealous,” Daniel muttered, eyes fixed on the door.

“Jealous, _hyung_?” Jihoon asked, tilting his head. “Why?”

“That connection,” Daniel waved vaguely at the door. “How close they are. Any day and we’ll realize they can talk telepathically!”

“ _SEVENTEEN_ ’s the same, if the rumors are true,” Sungwoon shrugged, dragging Daehwi closer to himself. “Think of it as _Pledis_ peculiarity. And yes, I’m also jealous,” he pouted. “I wish HOTSHOT was that tight.”

“So, we’ll never be first in Minhyun _hyung_ ’s heart?” Jaehwan looked more than little dejected, and Seongwoo could relate. He had experienced the same feeling when he saw how comfortable Jonghyun and Minhyun were around each other in _Sorry, Sorry_. Orbiting around the invisible center that was the name NU’EST, the two idols-turned-trainees didn’t even need to look at each other to know where the other was and what they were doing, focusing instead on bringing the others closer to that orbit for the stage to work properly.

“Nah,” Daehwi shook his head, a sardonic smile on his face. “If he’s anything like Minki _hyung_ and Dongho _hyung_ , we’re fresh out of luck. Those two literally communicated with nothing but winks and head tilts for three hours straight!”

“But Minhyun’s a veteran. He won’t let something like that interfere,” Jisung frowned. “I’m sure he’ll grow close to us.”

“That’s not the point, Jisung _hyung_ ,” Woojin finally added his own opinion. “He was close to everyone in _Never_ , but Jonghyun was always a special one. We just can’t compete.”

“Exactly,” Daniel pointed to Woojin. “Minhyun _hyung_ was with NU’EST for over seven years minimum, five of them as debuted idol. There’s no way we can grow that close to him in the next year and a half, let alone a few months before the official debut!”

“You mean the fans will spot the distance between him and us?” Sungwoon frowned and was met with nods from the other members.

“Well, maybe not,” Seongwoo found himself blurting out. “Not if we style him as our _appa_.”

The silence set _Fantagio_ trainee’s nerves on fire.

“That could work,” Jinyoung had a considering look on his face. “Minki _hyung_ told me he was NU’EST’s _eomma_ , always yelling at them to clean up after themselves and reminding them to eat healthily. I guess switching to _appa_ won’t take too much effort.”

Seongwoo and Daniel snorted at the same time, exchanging exasperated looks. They had been on the other side of Minhyun’s ‘mothering’, and it was a scary thing. Give them Jonghyun shouting at them any day over Minhyun’s ministrations!

Jaehwan’s eyes lit up at the proposal, and Guanlin looked slightly more reassured.

“So, who’s for making Minhyun our _appa_?” Jisung took the reins, pretending to count the number of hands. “Unanimous decision! Congrats Wanna One, we have _appa_! Who’s gonna tell him?”

Jaehwan jumped at the chance, Guanlin and Jihoon right behind him.

“Me, me!”

“No, I’m gonna tell him!”

“No, I am! I’m the closest one to him!”

“No you’re not -”

“Shut up you hyena -”

Seongwoo did not even bother trying to stop himself from facepalming. And he had to live with these people for the next eighteen months.

“Please kill me.”

* * *

 

Jeonghan had no idea why Aron chose him of all people to accompany him to the _Sajangnim_ ’s office, but he was glad his _hyung_ picked him after a long deliberation. His tolerance for other people’s nonsense was notoriously high – a threshold firmly established during his pre-debut days with _SEVENTEEN_ – and his passion took its sweet time to transition into true anger.

That little trait he developed was of enormous help right now, when faced with _Sajangnim_ and his unreasonable demands from his NU’EST _hyungs_ , because Aron’s temperament was far more volatile, and he had to calm him down several times while Jonghyun and _Sajangnim_ argued.

“ _Sangjanim, we understand it would be a hassle, but if the contract is short -_ ” Jonghyun was not giving up.

“Jonghyun- _ssi_ , you do realize the chances for getting a six-month contract is close to nil,” _Sajangnim_ was relentless as well. “With the amount of attention you four managed to secure despite the lack of off-stage screentime -” Here, Jeonghan winced in sympathy for Minki. Mnet’s editors really went too far during position battles, not even giving the Busan boy freaking mic to talk and show the world what kind of person he was off stage, but that was merely the worst part. “- and truly misleading editing -” It was Aron’s time to wince. How did the Mnet figure large body was equal to scary personality? Dongho _hyung_ was probably one of the sweetest people, if a bit pigheaded when it came to producing music, nothing more! “ – they will try and keep you for as long as they can.”

“ _Oh believe me, they won’t. I have something on them,_ ” Jonghyun’s voice was oddly satisfied. “ _Well, I have something on Brand New Music that will make them push for the six-month contract. Don’t worry, Sajangnim, NU’EST will have a reunion before the Lunar New Year. Well, I guess we’ll have to form a sub-unit, since Minhyun-nie won’t be back yet._ ”

“I see. However, what about Aron- _ssi_?” Sangjanim was not being delicate around the subject. “He will gain fame but won’t reap any benefits.”

A long pause on the other end of the line, and Jeonghan grabbed Aron’s hand to prevent him from doing anything stupid.

“ _What about being Pledis’ representative for Be One?_ ” Minhyun suggested. “ _Aron hyung has a crazy number of idol friends in the industry, and everyone likes him._ ” Aron blushed vividly, and Jeonghan slammed a palm over his mouth to hide his smirk. “ _He’ll be a good person for public talking and getting invitations to radio shows._ ”

“Hmm… you four really thought of everything.” _Sajangnim_ was stone-faced, but there was a satisfied glint in his eyes. “Should I fear the appearance of a new company under the command of reversal idols NU’EST?”

The said members sputtered, denying any intention of making their own company, but Jeonghan would not be surprised if they did that later in life, once they got sick and tired of being tugged around and living under the public’s scrutiny. The best thing was, there was already a crazy number of people who would’ve applied to get in the company simply because Hwang Minhyun and Kim Jonghyun would be leading it (because there was no one else who could take that spot, if Jeonghan was being honest) and Choi Minki, Kwak Aron and Kang Dongho overseeing choreography, producing, and general idol training.

Yes, _Sangjanim_ should fear that imaginary company. They wouldn’t even need a lot of groups to make things work: just a few good trainees hand-picked by Minhyun, taught to perform by Dongho and Minki and coached on public appearances and networking by Aron and Jonghyun, and the company would grow even bigger than the unexpected tiger _Big Hit_ , home of _Bangtan Sonyeondan_.

Hell, Jeonghan would switch to that company in a heartbeat to stay close to his _hyungs_.

But that was still in the realms of fantasy: the only sure thing in the near future was _Be One_ , and Jeonghan crossed his fingers for his _hyungs_ and _dongsaengs_ to archieve their dreams.


	4. Those who survive shall tell our story (Haknyeon, Minhyun, BoA)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The initial reactions are winding down, but the chaos left behind the first hit is devastating. How is everyone going to deal with it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll apologize ahead of time to all Joo Haknyeon fans: I never got a good grasp of his character during Produce 101 (Mnet, stop cutting out people!), so I basically invented his personality for this fic. If you ever spot him acting completely OOC, tell me!

Hakyneon's hand was shaking as he ended the call with his manager. The phone felt so heavy in his hand, but he couldn’t let go of it, feeling like he had lost conscious control of his body.

“Haknyeon- _ah_?” Dongho _hyung_ murmured, placing his arm around Haknyeon’s shoulders. “Is everything alright?”

Hakyneon did not trust himself to sound normal, so he just shook his head.

_Cre.Ker will not support this. If you decide to continue building your career in this group, you will have to find another company to represent you._

The worst nightmare he had ever dared to entertain in all his time of being a trainee was coming to life. His own company did not want to support him anymore. What was he supposed to do now? Give up an amazing opportunity to debut alongside coveted Wanna One and be recognized as their equal, go back to _Cre.Ker_ and hope for the next chance to come quickly? Or to chase after his dreams, and find himself face to face with the uncertainty of having to find another representative in a few months’ timeframe?

“Hey, Haknyeon _hyung_ ,” Seonho jumped on his shoulders, startling Hakyeon, “what’s wrong? Smile a little!”

“Leave me alone,” Haknyeon snapped at the _maknae_. Usually he’d feel a little bad about it, knowing bad it felt to be scolded by a _hyung_ or _sunbae_ , but right know he couldn’t summon that emotion.

Everyone in the room fell silent, while Seonho staggered away from him, a quiet gasp escaping his lips.

“Haknyeon- _ah_?” Jonghyun walked up to him noiselessly, crouching in front of him. “You can talk to us. We should help each other.”

“Why would you?” Haknyeon made a split-second decision. He’ll test his _hyungs_ a little and see what they would do. After that, he’ll make his decision. “I won’t be a member, so why would you help me?”

“Ah, I see.” A knowing glint appeared in the _Pledis_ idol’s eyes, his lips tilting upward. Haknyeon tilted his head, suddenly worried. Jonghyun was sharp; had he already spotted the ploy? “Don’t worry Haknyeon- _ah_. Whatever you decide, we’re here to help you.”

Haknyeon had to bite his lip. _Damn you, Kim Jonghyun!_ He had completely forgotten NU’EST members came to the show with the reputation of ‘failed idols’: they were familiar with ins and outs of the entire industry, and how it was run. Dongho’s palm spasm on his shoulder and a deadly cold look in Minki’s eyes told him the other members had cottoned on as well.

“You’ll refuse?” Sewoon frowned with Youngmin, while Seonho pouted.

“But Haknyeon- _ah_ , you can’t leave us! We won’t be Be One without you!”

“No, it’s okay Seonho- _yah_ ,” Minki patted the youngest one in the room on the shoulder. “Haknyeon- _ah_ is old enough to make his own choices. He knows what he’s doing.”

 _Like hell,_ Hankyeon couldn’t resist a little snort. _I know jackshit. You’re an amazing actor, Minki hyung._

Minki’s only reaction was a wink and a pat to Samuel’s back, who immediately stepped closer to _Cre.Ker_ trainee.

Another phone rang: Jonghyun’s.

“Ah, _Sajangnim_ ’s calling,” Dongho rose up from his seat. “Samuel- _ie_ , Sewoon- _ie_ , can you keep an eye on everyone for us?”

Samuel and Sewoon nodded quickly.

“And Seonho, go find Minhyun- _ie_ ,” Jonghyun instructed as he lifted the phone to his ear. “ _Yoboseyo._ Yes, _Sajangnim,_ we’re all good. Privately? Of course.” He motioned for his members to exit the room. “Give us a minute to fetch Minhyun, please…”, and with that closed the door behind him.

The room stayed quiet, contrary to Haknyeon’s expectation. Youngmin stayed near the corner, looking rather sullen for someone who had a sure debut; Sewoon and Samuel kept true to their promise, eyes darting between everyone, and Hyeongseop and Seonho were huddling together, the latter returning from Minhyun-fetching duty.

“Are you really not going to debut with us, Haknyeon- _ie_?” Sewoon finally asked after a few minutes of stiff silence.

“I don’t know yet,” Haknyeon admitted, after making a mistake of making eye-contact with Samuel. “I have to decide on my own.”

“On your own?” Youngmin shot him a horrified look, and Samuel clenched his fists, which only made Haknyeon more uncomfortable. Thankfully, others did not catch the implications of the statement.

“Yeah,” Haknyeon nodded, sinking into his own thoughts. He had no time to waste now: he wanted to have an answer to present to Jonghyun by the time he came back from his own talk.

Safety of his current company without success or hunt for new company and possible fame?

Haknyeon knew what his parents would’ve advised him, but he also knew what other trainees would tell him. In the end, Minki _hyung_ was right: he was old enough to understand just what the consequences would be no matter what he chose. It was time to take the responsibilities for his future on his own back.

* * *

 

Minhyun didn’t know whether to scream in happiness or break down and start crying.

He had known the day one of the members would have to be left behind was coming: Minki had very little chance of debuting due to editors constantly cutting him out, and Dongho’s spot was shaky even with the ‘Sexy Bandit’ tag stamped on his forehead. But leaving everyone behind… that nearly broke him then and there. Sungwoon being there with him could only alleviate the pain by a small margin; he needed one of his brothers with him to help him adjust.

He knew he could be quite standoffish at the beginning, prince in both image and behavior: always composed, cool and rational. The only reason NU’EST broke through his façade was because how dedicated they were to include him in their group, dragging him with them everywhere and prodding him to let loose on the mocks they did to prepare for varieties. They never let him fall into his own little world and close off, and he was afraid Wanna One would simply be unable to do the same. He had seen respect in Daniel’s and Seongwoo’s eyes, adoration from the _maknaes_ and Jaehwan and awe from Jinyoung, Jihoon and Woojin. The only ones who didn’t look at him like he was anything special were Jisung (but he wasn’t counting their _ajumma_ ; the man was physically incapable of playing favorites) and Sungwoon, and that wasn’t nearly enough.

Now, though… with Wanna One and Be One being brother-groups… they were likely to have overlapping schedules at some point. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll be able to show a different side of himself – the side his brothers knew all too well.

“Minhyun- _nie_ , you’re thinking too hard,” Minki draped himself over his back. “Come back, you nag.”

“I don’t nag,” Minhyun fired back on instinct, “you’re just a lazy ass.”

“Excuse me? My ass is perfect,” Minki pouted, deliberately popping out his Cupid bow-shaped upper lip. The little brat knew the sight made everyone in the group melt, and used it to win the arguments.

“Perfect, huh?” Dongho joined in on the teasing, carefully avoiding looking at the cute pout. “Is that why they edited you out, to save everyone the burned eyes from seeing its ugliness?”

“Hey! Jonghyun, they’re bullying me!” Minki shamelessly waltzed into his leader’s open arms, making a long eye contact on top of an already heart-melting pout.

Naturally, Jonghyun folded like a wet paper under the direct assault of his darling _maknae_ : no matter how hard he tried to deny it, everyone in _Pledis_ knew Minki was Jonghyun’s favorite. Minki was the second male trainee to arrive at the company, and Jonghyun gave his absolute best to coddle and protect the boy from everyone, showering him with attention and spoiling him without a single afterthought. Even eight years after they met, the youngest member knew how to activate Jonghyun’s protective instincts and used that knowledge with unholy glee.

“Leave him alone,” Jonghyun placed his arms around Minki’s shoulders. “Remember, no bullying the babies.”

“Baby,” Dongho snorted. “If anyone’s a baby, it’s Guanlin and Seonho, not this overgrown brat.”

“So ru~ude,” Minki glowered at the main vocalist. “Am I not cute enough to be your baby anymore, Dongho- _ssi_? Has Guanlin- _ie_ replaced me?”

_Ouch! That was a low blow, Minki!_

Minhyun winced in sympathy as Dongho shifted in his spot, flustered and rendered speechless by Minki’s disgruntled face and Jonghyun’s warning look. They had such an evil _maknae_!

“And you too, Minhyun- _ssi_. Hanging all the time with Jaehwan- _nie_ and Seonho- _yah_ and leaving me all alone!”

Oh, that little…

“Uh, what’s going on here?”

Minhyun turned, hand raised mid-motion to slap Minki on the shoulder for his idiocy, and saw gaping Jaehwan and stunned Guanlin watching them from the end of the corridor. His insides froze. Just how much of their little fight did they hear? Better yet, how did they interpret it?

“Nothing,” Minki sing-sang. “It’s okay, guys, we’re just saying our goodbyes for the night!”

“Ah, Minki _hyung_ …” Jaehwan looked really guilty, biting his lip and shifting from one foot to other. “I didn’t mean to steal Minhyun _hyung_ from you. I’m so sorry! Can you forgive me for being greedy?”

Minki blinked, rather taken aback, and Guanlin took it as a good opportunity to rush to his _hyung_ and hug him with all his might, separating him from Jonghyun in the process.

“Imsorryimsorryimsosorry -”

The litany was stopped by Minki’s loud laughter.

“Guys, guys, relax! I’m not really angry!”

“It’s okay, Jaehwan _-nie_ ,” Jonghyun smiled, motioning for Wanna One’s main vocal to come closer. “This is how we tease each other. Minki is just playing with Dongho and Minhyun since they ignored him a lot during the show.”

“Yup,” the angelic smile on Minki’s face only served to disquiet Minhyun further. Since when did Minki give up on his ‘let’s torture my _hyungs_ ’ game so early? “I mean, is a goodnight kiss or hug every week too much to ask? Jonghyun always made time for me, unlike those two.”

Ah, there was the catch.

Minhyun could only watch helplessly as their _dongsaengs_ turned on them with identical disapproving expression, ready to dish out punishment in Minki’s and Jonghyun’s stead.

“Really, Minhyun _hyung_? A hug isn’t that much,” Jaehwan’s voice was dripping with disappointment. “Why didn’t you? Were we that much of a trouble that you forgot your own brother?”

“I – It’s – you – I -” Minhyun had no words to defend himself with. He _had_ neglected Minki, always far away both in placements and groups; he only paid attention to him when they had a day off to visit Aron _hyung_ , and even that wasn’t nearly enough. “I couldn’t let my teams down -”

“But a hug? You hugged us all whenever we felt even slightly moody,” Jaehwan was not relenting. “Honestly… you’re such a bad _appa_.”

Minhyun choked on air. _Appa_? What was this boy blathering about?

“We voted you as our _appa_ , since Jisung _hyung_ will be _eomma_ ,” Guanlin piped in, glaring at Dongho and him interchangeably. “Maybe we shouldn’t have, since you’re so against it.”

“No, no, I was just surprised,” Minhyun rasped out, still dazed. _Appa_? Were these people for real?

“But you treated Minki _hyung_ badly,” Jaehwan frowned. “Will you treat us the same way, too?”

Minhyun had no answer for this. Why were people attacking him like this?

His eyesight blurred, and before he knew it, the hard linoleum was biting his knees and kissing his forehead.

“ _Why are you doing this to me?!_ ”

* * *

 

Who would’ve thought the night would end the way it had?

BoA, Nation’s Representative and _sunbae_ to every boy in the show could only sigh as the stylists carefully removed the heaviest parts of her makeup. The creation of the second group was an ad-lib the script-makers had done haphazardly, frightened by the response of the viewers. International viewers especially made a lot of noise; those fluent in Korean started a hashtag on SNS for the creation of the second group, roping in a lot of Korean voters into the rollercoaster. The truth was, there was no telling how many of the nine leftover boys would be allowed by their companies to form Be One.

Kim Jonghyun had obviously sensed the potential chaos, but BoA had expected that of the veteran idol. She had noticed the elusive NU’EST during the tail-end of their promotions for their last album _Canvas_ , and was left astounded by the music they were producing up until their stint in Produce 101. Some of them were obviously of lesser musical quality, made only with trends in mind, but some were true masterpieces. Title tracks _Yoboseyo_ or Hello, Good Bye Bye and Love Paint were only the tip of the iceberg; B-sides were almost as good as the title tracks, and Face was still the most viewed boy group debut single of all time.

She knew that talent and hard work was unfortunately not enough to survive in the industry: you had to be sharp and ready to fight for every second of public attention if you were not from one of the Big 3, and the leader of NU’EST was ready to do that. She had seen it in his eyes when she prodded him for an answer on joining Be One, and she couldn’t wait to see what kind of havoc he’d wreck with his boys.

In truth, Wanna One had a head start on popularity – the total number of votes they got was unbelievable – but Be One had a story even the biggest rookies in PR could make into a fantastic promotion that could easily overshadow Nation’s Chosen. It was impossible to say at this point who the public would adore more, and BoA didn’t want to speculate just yet.

First, she wanted to know the final lineup for Be One, and the mood within Wanna One. She would place her bets with PDs and trainers after that.

Thankfully, she could get easy insider information simply by checking on the boys under the pretext of congratulating them away from the cameras.

“Hello,” she said cheerfully as she entered Wanna One’s gathering room.

The boys were quiet, but it wasn’t an awkward silence: they were cuddling in small groups, figuring each other out as they laid on the couches dragged close together in a triangle shape.

However, three boys were missing.

“Hello, BoA _sunbaenim_ ,” Jisung greeted her with a dip of his head, other boys following his example.

“Congratulations. You did very well today,” the older singer complimented the boys, who glowed at the praise. “Both stages were truly wonderful to watch.”

“Thank you, _sunbaenim_ ,” Daniel murmured, clutching Seongwoo close to himself.

“But I see some of you are missing?” BoA prodded, truly interested. Why were Hwang Minhyun, Lai Guanlin and Kim Jaehwan missing? Minhyun she could understand: he likely went to check on his for now former group members, but Jaehwan and Guanlin had very little reason to intrude in that case.

Before anyone could answer, though, a loud ruckus managed to come through the closed doors of the gathering room, and everyone turned in that direction.

“ _… please! I’m okay -_ ”

“ _You hit your head on the floor, stupid! We have the first-aid -_ ”

“Stop being difficult, Minhyun- _nie_ ,” Kang Dongho kicked open the door and entered the room backwards, carrying the squirming Hwang Minhyun princess-style. “Guanlin- _nie_ , please get me the kit.”

The rest of NU’EST and two remaining members of Wanna One rushed in as well, shooing Daniel, Jisung and Seongwoo off the couch to let Dongho lay Minhyun down. Guanlin handed the first-aid kit over to Jonghyun, while Minki inspected the room and sketched a bow to BoA.

“Excuse us guys, BoA _sunbaenim_ : this idiot,” he lazily pointed at the huddle of boys over his shoulder, “decided to let his head meet the floor and then tried to write it off as nothing.”

“He did what?”

Woojin may have been the only one to open his mouth, but the sentiment was shared between all members as they all looked ready to slap the _Pledis_ member.

“Why is our _hyung_ so stupid?” Daehwi groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

BoA chuckled at the ruckus that only grew once other Be One members appeared at the door, drawn in by the sounds of fighting and shouting.

She still had no idea about the final line-up of Be One, but she was certain of one thing: she would pitch her idea for the two groups to do at least one variety show together, preferably Ask Us Anything. She couldn’t wait to see how the veteran comedy show MCs would deal with a bunch of rambunctious teens and those who behaved that way. The clash between Kim Heechul, Ong Seongwoo and Choi Minki was one she was sure would enter the history books.

As for the popularity… well, she decided to stay out of that poll this time. She’ll have good time laughing at the poor fools who did otherwise. The things were simply too muddled for her to put her money down, and she liked winning.

Wanna One may have popular individuals, but BoA knew how important the display of team dynamics was to the fans. They needed something to talk and gush about, and Be One looked much stronger in that regard right now.

But why was she busy predicting and being lost in her head? She had some free entertainment right in front of her, and it would be a sacrilege not to give it proper attention. What kind of _sunbae_ would she be if she didn’t pay attention to her _dongsaengs_ and _hoobaes_?


	5. Emotional messes are everywhere (Seonho, Daniel, Jaehwan)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In short, Seonho is far too excitable, Minki is a little piece of shit with potty mouth, Daniel flip-flops between being a pure bean and an emotional mess, and Jaehwan's jealousy is rearing up its head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating earlier, I had two weeks of exams to do. :(  
> Also, have you seen NU'EST W's comeback MV? The _audacity_ of them. Stylist-nim, you outdid yourself and made every boy wreck my bias list, including my own ultimate bias Ren. _slow clap_ Good work.

The next morning came with the loud, familiar EDM track screaming in their ears, and Seonho muttered a curse into his pillow. What deity above have they pissed off to get tortured like this early in the morning?

_Oneul bam juingongeun naya na, naya na!_

“Oh my God, someone shut it up!” Samuel sounded half-dead as he complained, burrowing himself deeper into the sheets, resembling a human burrito.

_Neomaneul gidaryeo on naya na, naya na!_

“Okay, okay, we’re awake, stop it!” Guanlin whined from the bottom bunk under Seonho. The loud thump followed by Daehwi _hyung_ ’s screech told Seonho Guanlin had thrown one of his plushies blindly at the speakers and missed, hitting the _BNM_ trainee.

_Ne mameul humchil saram naya na, naya na!_

“Fuck my life, I’m already hearing this in my nightmares! I don’t need it as my alarm clock too!” Minki _hyung_ complained from the top bunk across him, his covers strewn haphazardly and tangled around his legs and torso. Dongho _hyung_ threw a pillow at his friend, grumbling about the language used in front of the kids.

_Majimak dan han saram naya na, naya na!_

“Get up everyone!” Jonghyun _hyung_ yelled at them, already half-dressed, and Seonho jumped up. Their leader actually managed to overpower the annoying EDM track with his shout and startled everyone in the room.

“Chill, morning freak,” Minki yawned, shimmying down from his bunk and going over to the wardrobe. “And change that shirt, it’s all wrinkled! We need to look good on the camera. Same for the rest of you!”

Jonghyun did as he was instructed, stealing one of Minki’s neatly folded plain cotton shirts while the other picked out –

“Is that _silk?_ ” Hyeongseop’s offended expression would’ve been hilarious if Seonho wasn’t feeling the same way. Where was Minki hiding it all this time? “ _Lavender silk?!_ ”

“Minki- _ya_ ,” Dongho _hyung_ groaned, tugging Guanlin and Daehwi up and patting Youngmin on the shoulder. “Why did you pack that? Better yet, when did you steal it from Jeonghan- _ie_ and why didn’t you return it to him?”

“I figured one of us would need something fancy at some point,” Minki shrugged, completely unapologetic. “And Jeonghan- _ie_ is still holding my favorite sweater hostage, so I decided I’d take his shirt.”

“Oh, the pink, fluffy monstrosity Minhyun and Aron bought you in Japan as a gag after that interview we did?” Jonghyun asked with a teasing smirk, and Seonho had to stop himself from gaping. He had never seen NU’EST _hyungs_ interact so freely, let alone showing this much emotions towards each other. Sure, they exchanged pointed looks and occasional hugs, but that wasn’t the same. “You still have it?”

“What? It’s fluffy and warm,” Minki crossed his arms. “Besides, I need to remind myself sometimes of my personal highs.”

Dongho started cackling uncontrollably, eyes turning into crescent moons, and Jonghyun looked like a cat who caught the canary at the reminder. The rest of the room, much to Seonho’s relief, didn’t have a clue what the trio was talking about.

“Uh, _hyung_? What are you talking about?” Youngmin asked after a few seconds of silence only broken by Dongho’s snickering.

“We did an interview in Japan about a year ago,” Minki explained, a devilish smile on his face. “The interviewer was seriously rude the entire time to me, and at one point told me ‘You’re a lot like a girl!’” Seonho gasped. That was rude!

“The little shit just told him ‘Thank you, I like it’,” Jonghyun grinned. “And it snowballed from there until he changed the topic. Aron _hyung_ and Dongho were hiccupping from laughter by the end of the interview.”

Samuel sniggered at the Jonghyun’s impersonation, and everyone else slowly followed. Daehwi in particular looked impressed, eyes fixed on Minki. Minki visibly preened, even throwing some poses to them in his PJs.

“You did that, Minki _hyung_?”

“Just because I rock both long and short hair doesn’t mean I’m a doormat,” the most androgynous member of NU’EST shrugged and placed the shirt and the jeans on his bed and picked up his bag of toiletries. “I’m stealing one shower stall – don’t expect me to leave you hot water.”

_Well_ , Seonho thought as he scrambled with everyone else to get to showers before Minki inevitably used up all hot water, _if this is the taste of how Be One would work, I’m sold._

* * *

 

“Jong- whoa!” Daniel and Minhyun showed up at the doors and instantly moved away to let out Minki-hurricane out. “Jonghyun, you guys okay?”

“All good,” Jonghyun nodded, inviting the two inside. “Sit down – we’ll be alone for a while, Minki threatened to use all warm water.”

“Ah, so it’s like the old times,” Minhyun laughed and Daniel had to resist the urge to smile as well.

Out of all NU’EST members participating, Choi Minki was the biggest mystery for him. Jonghyun was easily slotted into the label of ‘Angel Leader’, Minhyun in ‘superb visual, singer and a nagging mother’, and Dongho in ‘manly main vocal who is actually a complete sweetheart’. Minki, though…

Maybe it was due to the fact he had never done a stage with him and only heard of his behavior during the comedy interludes, but to him Minki was nothing more than moodmaker and the unexpected visual of the NU’EST. Of course, he had heard him singing – shocking adaptable tenor that sounded more like a female’s vocal when he started hitting the high notes – and seen his absolute confidence when on stage, but he didn’t know him off-stage.

“Yes,” Jonghyun made a long-suffering face. “I hope he won’t turn out to be Aron _hyung_ of Be One – he’s far too much to handle as it is!”

“And yet you love him the best out of us all,” Minyhun poked Jonghyun a bit. “Relax, he’ll be fine. A few pranks here and there, a bit of second-hand embarrassment on variety shows and vlives -”

“As I said, too much,” Jonghyun muttered, but Minhyun ignored him.

“But he’ll be okay. You’ll see. I mean, he survived Oh Little Girl, right?”

“Somehow,” Jonghyun shook his head with a fond smile. “How was he considered the mature center, I’ll never know.”

“Badmouthing me behind my back?”

Daniel jumped. He had been so fixated on the conversation, he didn’t notice the opening of the door. Choi Minki stood there, wrapped in a bathrobe, a knowing smile on his face.

“Hey Daniel- _ie_ , Minhyun- _ie_. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for the day?”

Daniel scratched the back of his neck, suddenly feeling guilty. Seongwoo had warned him they won’t have a lot of time to prep for the cameras, but Daniel really, really wanted to see Jonghyun and talk to him properly.

“Yes, right,” Minhyun jumped up. “Daniel, you coming?”

“Ah…”

Jonghyun tilted his head. _Please, please stay, I need to talk to you!_ Daniel gave his best to persuade him through his eyes.

“I need to shower too,” the kind leader explained. “Minki, can you-?”

“Sure,” Minki nodded. “Now go – Seonho is taking way too long in the shower, and that’s me saying that.”

Jonghyun and Minhyun rushed out, leaving Daniel alone with Minki in the dorm room.

“Uh…”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Minki smiled brightly, taking off his bathrobe and tugging on the jeans. “Just pretend I’m Jonghyun and I’ll listen.”

Daniel released a quiet sigh of relief and closed his eyes. He really needed to let it out to someone who understood the industry.

“I’m scared,” he whispered. “Everyone’s eyes will be on me, the so-called perfect center. How do I not screw up this chance? One mistake from me, and I’ll be dragging everyone down. I already messed up once: what’s stopping a second mess-up?”

“By not obsessing over it so much,” Minki answered him with a warm voice. “Look, I know idols always have to be careful with what they say and do, but you’ll do okay. Minhyun- _ie_ and Sungwoon _hyung_ won’t leave you hanging, I promise you.”

“But still,” Daniel moaned, clutching his hair. “We’re Nation’s Chosen boy group. It’s just…”

“The idea is too much,” Minki finished his sentence. “I get it, Daniel- _ie_. But really, there’s no use in obsessing over it. Someone’s always going to disapprove. Your job is to focus on your performances and your fans and ignore the haters. How do I look?”

Daniel opened his eyes, a little reassured by the experienced idol’s words, and was promptly left with only one thought in his head as he took in Minki’s appearance.

“You’ll kill the fangirls with that shirt.”

“That’s kinda the plan,” Minki winked, brushing away the invisible dust off his shoulder. “Not all of us have the benefit of 1.5 million votes, Daniel- _ie_. We gotta play the game with the cards we have.”

Daniel nodded, tucking away Minki’s words in the back of his head. _We gotta play the game with the cards we have._ He had heard this advice many times in many different forms, but when put in those words and coming from Choi Minki of NU’EST…

Maybe it wasn’t Jonghyun’s kindness and soft speech that he had craved, but the bluntness and direct speech his NU’EST teammate dealt in.

“Thank you, Minki _hyung,_ ” Daniel gave his elder a full ninety-degree bow. “You’ve guided me well.”

“Oh, drop that stupid formal speech,” Minki chuckled and gave a surprisingly strong push to his shoulders. “I’m not that much older than you. Now shoo! I’m not going all out for this shoot just for you guys to look like flops!”

“Yes sir!” Daniel reflexively saluted.

“And for God’s sake, don’t let Jihoon pick his own clothes! Get Seongwoo to do it!”

* * *

 

Finally, the time has come – the ending of the Produce 101. Now, the only thing left to do was the final shoot and the packing.

It still didn’t feel real for Jaehwan. There had never been an independent trainee that debuted in a survival show. To add it to the shock, he didn’t even have some superb visuals or enormous confidence on stage going for him: just his voice and an enormous luck of meeting wonderful people willing to help him.

That train of thought inevitably led him to the man of the hour, who was currently waiting for the interview to start. Kim Jonghyun looked impeccable even in casual black jeans and plain grey shirt, hair styled away from his forehead and makeup minimal. Backed up by unreal visuals of Choi Minki and serious stare of Kang Dongho, three _Pledis_ idols looked ready to take on the world for everyone in the room.

“’Lo? Anyone alive here?”

Everyone jumped at the creak of the door and the face that peeked from behind it.

“Aron _hyung?_ ” Minhyun muttered, jaw dropping slightly.

“Aron _hyung_!” Dongho went for a hug. “You’re fast!”

Kwak Aron chuckled, blushing slightly and rubbing the back of his head.

“Eh…”

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Jonghyun scolded his _hyung_. “Aron _hyung_ , we talked about this.”

“This doesn’t fall under ‘normal circumstances’ by any definition, J- _ah_ ,” Aron fired back, crossing his arms. “I’ll survive one night without sleep. If you want to yell at someone, yell at our _dongsaengs_ : I would’ve finished the paperwork far quicker if not for them constantly interrupting me.”

Jonghyun buried his face in his palms and groaned.

“Don’t tell me Seungcheol- _ie_ let them come with you.”

Aron shook his head.

“Nope, thank God. Joshua and Jeonghan put sleeping medicine in their water couple of hours ago: they’re all dead to the world.”

Minki and Dongho snorted, and at Jaehwan’s side Minhyun started snickering under his breath.

“Minhyun _hyung_?” Woojin asked.

“They tried to do the same to us a few years ago,” Minhyun explained. “We avoided it though, all thanks to Minki’s refusal to drink anything that smelled weird.”

The rest of Wanna One – boy, he’ll need some time to get used to that name – snickered as well before concentrating back on the little family drama NU’EST boys were shamelessly acting out. Aron was smothering a long-suffering Samuel with hugs with everyone else egging him on: Hyeongseop and Seonho in particular seemed a bit too supportive of the eldest’s actions.

“Khm, khm.”

Jaehwan startled and turned to the staff member.

“Kim Jonghyun- _ssi_ , they are ready for you.”

“Of course,” Jonghyun stood up. “Am I to do it alone or with my group?”

Jaehwan gulped at the stern expression on the other’s face. Last time he had seen it, Jonghyun had told Hyunbin off for not working hard enough and essentially dragging the entire team down.

“You may take one more person with you,” the staff crossed his arms. “But they may not speak.”

Jonghyun sighed and motioned for Minki to follow him.

“Behave.”

“I always do,” Minki’s smile was angelic, and Jaehwan did not trust it one bit. After that meeting yesterday, he’ll never fully trust that small smile ever again.

“I know you do, that’s why I’m telling you this. Aron _hyung_ …” Jonghyun exchanged a long look with Aron, who nodded.

“Go.”

With that, the pair were gone, following the staff member out of the room. Aron looked after them for a short moment, then turned to Wanna One and opened his arms.

“Come here, you lucky bastard.”

Minhyun stood up and rushed into Aron’s embrace. The two rocked a little before detaching themselves, Aron staring Minhyun deeply into the eyes. The princely visual had a nostalgic smile on his face, and Jaehwan felt a hot rod of jealousy stab his heart. He clenched his fists and turned away from the two brothers in everything but blood reuniting in front of them.

This was the part of being an independent trainee he hated. There were no labelmates he could call for support and advice, no friends he was allowed to contact apart from his family: just himself, his wits, his abilities and a little dash of Lady Luck’s blessing that came in the shape of Hwang Minhyun’s affection for him.

He was nowhere near as open in his caring as his labelmates were, but Jaehwan was proud of securing his own spot in the normally distant _Minsajangnim_ ’s heart. To see how small that place actually was…

Well, he was human, and jealousy was a normal human emotion, right?

“I didn’t know green was your thing, Jaehwan _hyung_ ,” Bae Jinyoung poked him in the arm. “You look like you’re about to puke.”

“Puking?” Seongwoo slid far away in a nanosecond, and Jihoon flinched away from the main vocal. “If you’re going to be sick, go somewhere else!”

“Not like that, you idiot,” Sungwoon chuckled, slapping the newest _Fantagio_ idol. “What Jinyoung _-ie_ meant was that Jaehwan- _ssi_ is feeling jealous of Minhyun- _ie_ ’s labelmates. You better get used to this, or Minhyun’s going to spot your jealousy streak and that will _not_ end well.”

_“Fine_ , _”_ Jaehwan said sulkily, but not before stealing another look at Minhyun’s back as he conversed in hushed tones with Aron.

He’ll take what he could get. If he decided to be little clingier to his _hyung_ than normally… well, he’ll think of some good excuse later.

Hwang Minhyun was _his_ friend, and he would not let anyone hog his friend’s attention like this.

Even if their names were Kwak Aron, Kim Jonghyun, Kang Dongho and Choi Minki.


	6. Time to get things started (Youngmin, Daehwi, Soonyoung)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Be One and Wanna One are moving out of PD101 dorms and into their new ones...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I really have explanation for this chapter but one word: MAMAs. I watched all three MAMAs this week, and got a bad case of choking, nosebleed and shortness of breath. 
> 
> Swing really went too hard on 'we will miss you, Wanna One shtick', and Minhyun and Seongwoo were just so rude to me. 
> 
> Pledis, you literally nuked us in JPN and HK. First you give us a dope remix of Shadow (my absolute fave Nuble B-Side) in Japan and _those rude outfits_ , and then SVT comes to Hong Kong and literally makes me a Carat with Getting Closer performance... that I have to wait for a week to get officially released. How in the world am I supposed to do that?? But okay... at least I got this chapter out of the whole mess.

Youngmin huffed, clicking on yet another Naver article, only to find himself face to face with identical two pictures as before. Daniel and Seongwoo on the left, looking cool and serious in jeans and matching striped button-up shirts while standing next to each other, and Jonghyun and Minki on the right, a study in both contrasts and compliments: their easy smiles and starkly different outfits and poses with Jonghyun sitting properly in the chair and Minki lounging on its handrest made them look like models.

The title, however, was promising to be a bit more objective than most, so Youngmin sank into the text.

Wanna One and Be One: The first glimpse of brother groups of Produce 101

_Mnet’s drama-filled survival show that is rapidly becoming a classic ended last night in an explosive finale, revealing the final 11 trainees hand-picked by the general public to represent South Korea for the next eighteen months. After one final rendition of the title track Pick Me (Nayana), two debut stages and tearful goodbye song aptly named Always, the entire country was on the edge of their seats. Which of their favorites will make it, and which will not? Whose names will Representative BoA call out as worthy of sitting on the blue pyramid, and who will remain below, their dream just out of reach?_

_However, as the names were called out, one more question surfaced in the minds of the viewers during the voting: what will happen to those who don’t make it?_

_This question, posed by international viewers of the show, created a shadow over the proceedings, and the viewers in Korea demanded some sort of compensation for the boys who would not be able to debut with Wanna One. Had they not fought as well? Had they not given their all on the stage to please the Nation? Why would they not be given a similar chance to shine like their brothers who just happened to be liked a bit more?_

_As stated by Kim Jonghyun, former leader of NU’EST and a current leader of Be One today on press conference, ‘We were given a chance. An unexpected one, true, and one we never dreamed was possible, but we will repay your gift of trust with our best performances.’_

_The Angel Leader of Produce 101 was very comfortable with reporters, showing his experience as debuted idol: he was brief but succinct with facts, and just precise enough to leave everyone guessing at his real feelings._

_When asked whether he still feels like his group had stolen the attention from Wanna One, Nation’s Chosen, the leader only shrugged and said: ‘It’s difficult to rationalize the feelings. The only thing I say with confidence about Wanna One is that both groups respect each other deeply, and that neither of us will slack off in repaying all of Nation’s love back with our feelings and stages.’_

_Kim Jonghyun was accompanied by his former NU’EST teammate and 20 th placer Choi Minki who stayed silent throughout the interview: an interesting choice, considering the striking androgynous visual had little screentime during the show itself and was often shown as either silent or in the middle of emotional breakdown. Was it a calculated act, or a gesture of support from two elder and more experienced idols to younger members? The latter would most certainly fall in line with the character of Angel Leader, and even to a degree with the character of Choi Minki, who had shown great care of his dongsaengs during concept evaluations, but the former could also be possible due to their previous association with Hwang Minhyun, currently of Wanna One._

_On the other side, the Nation’s number one and number five, Kang Daniel and Ong Seongwoo, were far more uncomfortable, leaning on each other during their interview for support. The answers, while a bit stuttered, showed they had been instructed by their more experienced members Hwang Minyhun and Ha Sungwoon how to talk to the journalists._

_When asked about their brother group’s chances of being bigger than them, Kang Daniel laughed and said following:_

_‘I don’t mind a challenge, if I’m being honest. Our starting points may be slightly different, but as long as we give it our all, I’ll be happy with the results we get.’_

_‘Be One should not be underestimated’, was Ong Seongwoo’s assessment. ‘They’re very talented, and I’m sure they will not let us rest idly on the fact we were chosen. We will give our best and let Lady Luck decide who she favors more.’_

_‘The members are fine,’ Daniel said when asked about how are the members adjusting to each other. ‘We have all made casual acquaintances with each other during the show, and I look forward to getting closer to everyone.’_

_Ong Seongwoo said on the matter: ‘I’m glad I got to debut with so many people I already met and know a bit about, so I’ll do my best to get closer to everyone else and be the good bridge between the hyungs and dongsaengs.’_

_Wanna One does indeed suffer from a great age difference between the hyungs and dongsaengs: the eldest hyung Yoon Jisung is ten years older than the maknaes Lee Daehwi and Lai Guanlin. This fact puts the three middle members Jaehwan, Seongwoo and Daniel into a precarious position of being bridges between the two worlds, and the functioning of the entire team will likely hinge on them being able to successfully connect with both sides._

_The two groups are slated to debut within next month, with YMC temporarily handling both groups until a more permanent solution can be found._

“Hey, Youngmin- _ie_ ,” Kwak Aron peeked into the room. Youngmin still didn’t know what the final NU’EST member and former Arirang and SBS PopAsia DJ was doing there, but he was willing to go with it for now. “What got you so stuck to the computer? You should sleep.”

“Just reading about today’s interview, _sunbaenim_ ,” Youngmin moved a little so the older man could see the screen. “Finally found an unbiased article – sort of.”

“Ah, you shouldn’t go searching for the news so early on, Youngmin- _ie_ ; it’s not good for your nerves, trust me,” Aron chuckled. “Particularly not with how high-profile the show and the group is right now. Leave the fretting and swearing over public’s opinion to me, okay?”

“I guess…” Youngmin was not totally sold. “If you’d pardon my rudeness, _sunbaenim_ , but what are you doing here?”

“Drop the _sunbae_ and formality thing, kid, and call me _hyung_ if you insist on politeness,” Aron grinned as he sat on the table next to the computer screen. “Officially, I’m here as _Pledis_ representative in negotiating for your contracts. Unofficially, I’m your PR manager and the only one mad enough to volunteer to manage your schedules until YMC decides what to do.”

Youngmin felt his eyes widen. He was managing their schedule and taking care of the PR at the same time?

“Alone?!”

“Nah, not alone,” Aron quickly shook his head, “but since I volunteered, I’m the one who has the final say. Gotta admit, I never thought I’d ever have to do this on top of being a DJ and an idol when I auditioned for Pledis.” The smile on his face as he said that wasn’t entirely natural. “But I guess this is better than just sitting and twiddling my thumbs for the next six months. Now, as your schedule manager, I’m telling you to go to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“ _Ne,_ Aron _hyung_!”

* * *

 

“Is this good?”

Jihoon twirled in front of the mirror, and Daehwi pursed his lips, critically looking at the outfit.

“Passable,” the younger nodded. “You chose well, Jihoon _hyung_.”

Jihoon let out a whoop and ran out of the room, leaving Daehwi alone in their dorm room.

“Silly hyung…”

“Who’s silly?” Jisung popped into the room. “Hurry up Daehwi- _ya_ , the managers are waiting for us at the front.”

“Are they? Already?” Daehwi’s heart jumped up, and he catapulted himself over to his bags. “I’m coming, I’m coming _hyung_! Sorry, Jihoon _hyung_ ’s wardrobe choice needed saving -”

“It’s okay, Daehwi- _ya_ ,” Jisung laughed, helping their _maknae_ with the bags. “I know Jihoon’s a nightmare when he has to pick out his own clothes.”

“Anyone needs help here?” Dongho appeared, leaning casually on the wall in front of the door, and Daehwi jumped up a little. How could the man of his size move so quietly everywhere?

“Ah, Dongho! Please?” Jisung made a pathetic attempt to lift one of Daehwi’s bags while balancing his own. “I’m too old to be running after all my _dongsaengs_ all the time.”

“No problem,” Dongho easily snatched the bag. “Go to the car: Daniel and Seongwoo ganged up on Sungwoon and Minhyun, and Jonghyun and Minki are too busy with other boys to stop them.”

“Omo! Thank you so much, Dongho!”

Jisung rushed off, leaving Daehwi and Dongho to eye each other uneasily over Daehwi’s bags. Daehwi had to admit, he had long since gotten over his fear of the NU’EST main vocal, but the bulky frame still made him uneasy sometimes.

“Let’s go, Daehwi- _ya_ ,” Dongho finally spoke, breaking the silence. “Samuel wants to catch you before we have to leave.”

“O-oh, right!” Samuel had wrangled that promise out of him last night, didn’t he? Daehwi grabbed the suitcase and ran up to Dongho’s side, and the two set off down the corridor.

“Are you feeling alright, Daehwi- _ya_?” Dongho asked, stopping suddenly in the middle of the corridor. “You look a bit… washed-out.”

Daehwi stopped as well and bit his lip, trying not to curse out loud and give himself away. He had made extra sure to cover every sign of the sleepless night with what little makeup he had and hide the bitten fingernails and callouses and smudges on the fingertips with the too-long sleeves of his favorite sweater. How in the world did Kang Dongho see through his pretense?

“Ah,” Dongho nodded after a few seconds of silence. “So you’re like that. Well, I’ll be frank with you: it’s not going to work with me, and if Minhyun- _nie_ ever catches you, there’ll be hell on Earth. Don’t do this to yourself, Daehwi- _ya_.”

“Do what?” Daehwi was not about to confess. Who was Dongho thinking he was? Yes, they had worked together before, and the older had at one point taken care of him, but that did not give him right to pry or to guess at his private life. Oh no, you don’t get to do that, _Sexy Bandit_!

“Try and bottle things in,” Dongho shrugged. “Jonghyun did that for a while until Minki and Minhyun called him out in the dorms.” Here, the older boy walked up to him, nearly violating Daehwi’s personal space bubble as he leaned on the wall. “Trust me, the aftermath was ugly enough to give us all nightmares about Jonghyun leaving us for good. Do you want your group to go through the same shit?”

Daehwi gulped and shook his head, the mere idea leaving him unsettled and shaking. The ever-calm and stable Kim Jonghyun, having a mental breakdown after bottling things in? It was nearly impossible to even think about, and yet…

The gleam in Dongho’s eyes assured him he was being dead serious.

“N-no.”

“Good.” Dongho backed away. “Then either get yourself a friend you’ll vent to or be open with Wanna One. There’s no middle path here Daehwi- _ya_.”

Daehwi nodded, and Dongho took it at face value, walking away with Daehwi’s bag slung over his shoulder.

* * *

  
_Aron hyung: We’re here! You better be ready, Soonie_ _😉_

“Guys, they’re here!”

Soonyoung jumped off the couch, startling every SEVENTEEN member in the room.

“Already?” Jihoon was instantly by Soonyoung’s side, checking his phone screen over his shoulder. “That was faster than we expected. Jeonghan, Cheol, is everything ready?”

“All ready,” Seungcheol came out of the kitchen, flour painting white streaks in his hair and all over his apron. “Jeonghan is finishing the pins.”

“Great!” Soonyoung smirked. Finally, they’ll get to prank their adorable _dongsaeng_ Samuel as proper big brothers. NU’EST _hyungs_ were of enormous help, making sure no one would enter the housing unit before Samuel and end up as accidental victim. “Get to the positions!”

Twelve other boys scattered at the command, hiding at every place they could think of: behind the couch(Jihoon), under the table(Jun and Minghao), behind the supporting pillar for the spiral staircase(Chan and Jisoo), under the staircase(Mingyu and Wonwoo), on the both sides of the front door(Seungcheol and Jeonghan) and in the kitchen(Hansol, Seungkwan and Seokmin). Soonyoung himself slid over to Jihoon, huddling behind the couch and grabbing the loudspeaker from the smaller one.

“You ready?”

“Of course,” Jihoon snorted, shifting in his seat. “I’m not letting Aron _hyung_ steal Samuel- _ie_ from us. We are the first ones who get to torture him.”

“I’m loving your new attitude, Hoonie,” Soonyoung grinned. “What happened to the Recording Room Tyrant?”

“He got left behind in Pledis recording booth,” Jihoon deadpanned, and Soonyoung cackled in response.

“Be quiet!” Jeonghan hissed, and they quieted down. The dorm was unnaturally silent, everyone waiting for Samuel to open the door.

“ _\- just open those stupid doors, Samuel-ie, you the closest one to them!_ ”

“ _But I want it to be special! We’ll spend a lot time here, you know!_ ”

 _Oh don’t worry, Samuel-ie, it’ll be special alright_ , Soonyoung thought while exchanging a knowing smirk with Jihoon. Aron had done his job perfectly: now it was their turn to finish it. The best part was, the cameras scattered through the dorm were primed for capturing the blackmail material for the rest of the world to see. Oh, Soonyoung loved this idea far too much.

_Click!_

“ _WELCOME HOME, SAMUEL-IE!_ ” Soonyoung shouted in his megaphone, Seungcheol and Jeonghan simultaneously bursting balloons filled with flour and water over Samuel’s head.

“ _WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING -_ ”

“ _LANGUAGE, YOUNG MAN!_ ” Jihoon took his turn to shout, jumping from behind the couch. “ _HANSOL, SAMUEL-IE SWORE!_ ”

“WHAT?” Hansol sprinted out of the kitchen and grabbed Samuel by the ear. “You-YOU- have I not taught you BETTER than to swear, Kim Samuel?!”

“O-O-O-OW! HANSOL HYUNG, LET ME GO! OOW!”

“Hello everyone,” Jonghyun chuckled walking in with Seonho and Aron in tow as the rest of SEVETEEN started ganging up on Samuel. “I see you decided to surprise Samuel- _ie_?”

“You bet we did,” Jun grinned, crawling out from under the kitchen table. “Ey, Channie…”

“On it!” Chan sneaked out from behind the pillar and up-ended a bowl full of confetti over Samuel. “Welcome home, Samuel- _ie_!”

“You snakes,” Samuel grumbled as he wriggled out of Hansol’s grasp. “You absolute snakes. How could you do this to me? And wait, how did you even get in?”

“I let them in,” Aron shrugged, not even a bit ashamed of himself. Soonyoung could admire the bravery of it. “I thought it would be a funny prank for your reality show.”

“ _REALITY SHOW????_ ”

Soonyoung snickered as wet, confetti-and-flour covered Samuel started chasing Aron around the dorm.

This was totally worth it.


	7. The first conflicts (Aron, Guanlin, Samuel)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mess is starting to get serious here... and everyone has to navigate through uncharted waters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and happy New Year in advance! I can't believe 2018 is already over: I feel like 1st of January was only a week ago lmao.  
> What to say about this chapter... it has angst, comfort, and drama mixed in - a cocktail LOVEs are very familiar with, I'm sure. Also, I just gave up and decided to tag SEVENTEEN in the category tags, because they keep popping up in the middle of the story without care.  
> To all Carats, happy Joshua/Jisoo day! ARMYs, happy Taehyung day! And to all LOVEs&Wannables (and every other fan), go and watch ending stage of KBS Gayo (Ren being extra Ren, MH and Nuble being oh-so-subtle in avoiding each other, BTS Jin going a little crazy, etc.) - it'll make you laugh, I promise!

“Could you repeat that? I’m not sure I understood you correctly.”

It was only his second day at the job, and Aron was already nursing an Everest-sized headache. _Pledis sajangnim_ had warned him this was not going to be a nice experience: YMC had never planned to house two groups at the same time, and Aron came prepared for a whole list of troubles. Housings, managers, choreographers, production and preparation, promotions: he would have to fight tooth and nail to get everything necessary for his brothers and their kids, and he had a hidden stash of tricks for nearly every situation.

This? This situation was so ludicrous he had never thought it would crop up… but apparently it did, and he was left scrambling for time to think of appropriate, expletive-free response.

“As I said, Kwak Aron- _ssi_ , YMC Entertainment currently doesn’t have a complete set of songs for both groups’ debut,” Lee Jaedong repeated himself with a tight little smile that drove Aron nuts and made his hand itch to slap him. “And since Wanna One is the group that was _supposed_ to be formed after Produce 101, they have higher priority.”

“I see, Lee Jaedong- _ssi_ ,” Aron finally said after a few seconds of silence as the ideas whirled in his mind. “And when you say ‘complete set of songs’… how many songs does YMC has ready at this moment?”

“10,” Jaedong said without hesitation. “Bear in mind only one of them is ready to be title track, and half of them are currently unfinished.”

Aron wanted to swear. He needed Jihoon- _nie_ or Dongho- _ya_ ’s opinion here: SEVENTEEN’s and NU’EST’s producers would know better what implications these numbers carried. Even so, Aron knew having five unfinished songs would either mean delayed debut, which would be catastrophic, or...

He needed an outside, neutral opinion, quickly.

“Thank you for informing me,” Aron bowed to the older man. “If you would be so kind and allow us a short break for me to consult with experts? I am very young and lack experience in these things, and I do not wish it to be the reason Be One will struggle later.”

It grated on his pride as idol and performer to admit his weaknesses in front of audience who only waited for his mistake to pounce and tear him apart, but he had to swallow this bitter pill and grab at any advantage he could. That was why he appealed to the older man’s sense of equality and unspoken relationships between _sunbaes_ and _hoobaes_ , drawing on the lessons on humility he had learned both during his debut days and in the past year or so. If he added a hint of a few acting lessons Minhyun and Minki had taken to like fish to water, that was only for him to know.

Thankfully, Lee Jaedong had apparently never seen NU’EST in action, nor was he familiar with _Pledis_ idols’ bag of tricks when it came to manipulation of unfavorable situations to suit their needs. If he had, Aron thought wryly, he would’ve never allowed Aron to make the calls he needed alone and without supervision.

“ _Yoboseyo?_ ”

“ _Ni hao_ , Jieqiong. It’s me, Aron” Aron greeted the visual of Pristin and former member of IOI in Chinese, smiling as he did so.

The habit of greeting and trying to talk with every Chinese-born idol in _Pledis_ in Chinese and with their Chinese names was one pleasant left-over of NU’EST’s time with Jason in China. Zhou Jieqiong, or Kyulkyung as the world knew her right now, was particularly impressed by her _sunbae_ ’s efforts to talk with her in her native language and held a soft spot for them.

Aron should’ve felt uncomfortable for taking advantage of that fondness, but if he was being honest with himself, shame and guilt never entered the equation here. He needed a little favor from a fellow idol who knew of their struggles, and he would repay it later. Maybe Kyulkyung would fancy a meeting with _f(x)_ ’s Amber? She could get Kyulkyung hooked up with Victoria – Junhui and Minghao never said it out loud, but they loved having other Chinese idols on speed dial, and Aron was sure Kyulkyung would appreciate it as well.

But he was getting lost in thoughts.

“ _Ni hao, Aron oppa!_ ” Kyulkyung chirped from the other side of the line. “ _How are you?_ ”

“I could be better, but I’m holding out,” Aron told her. “Can I ask a little favor of you?”

“ _Uh, sure oppa,_ ” Kyulkyung was a bit confused. “ _I’m not sure how can I help you, though._ ”

“I only need you to get me Bumzu on the line,” Aron said, checking his surroundings before lowering his voice. “There’s a big complication only he can solve.”

“ _Oooo,_ ” Kyulkyung breathed out, and Aron could hear footsteps as she went to the production studio. “ _Production of the music is slow? That’s what nearly happened to us during our debut._ ”

“Worse, Jieqiong- _ie_ ,” Aron murmured. “They only have enough songs for one album, and they’re planning to give them all to Wanna One.”

Kyulkyung uttered a set of words Aron had only heard Jason use when he was extremely angry – not precisely curses, but close enough.

“ _Okay, I’m nearly there. But why didn’t you call Dongho oppa or Jihoon oppa?_ ”

“I need someone who’s not involved in this mess,” Aron explained, looking at the watch. He had about ten minutes left to get things done.

“ _I’m here. Bumzu oppa!_ ” Aron couldn’t hear Kyulkyung’s conversation clearly, but Bumzu’s voice finally appeared on the other side of the line.

“ _Yes, Aron-ssi?_ ”

“Bumzu _hyung_ ,” Aron spoke in a rush. “I ran into a complication. YMC has only five tracks, one of which is title, complete and ready for debut. There are five more, but they aren’t finished, and none qualify as title track.”

“ _Well, shit_ ,” Bumzu said after a few seconds of silence. “ _That’s a delayed debut, right?_ ”

“Yeah,” Aron nodded as he said so. “And I can’t afford it. Public will tear Be One apart if they debut much later than Wanna One.”

“ _Look kid, I’d have to see what stage the songs are in. But I’m sure Woozi and I can whip up a title with Baekho’s help in a month,_ ” Bumzu stated with surety. “ _And if the other songs are about half-way done, you’ll have debut ready by mid-August._ ”

Aron let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, _thank you,_ Bumzu _hyung_.”

“ _Don’t thank me yet, kid,_ ” Bumzu let the gratitude roll off his shoulders. “ _Woozi may still say no._ ”

“Uh, are we talking about same Woozi here?” Aron snorted. “Samuel- _ie_ and his _hyungs_ ’ debut is on the line: you bet he’ll jump on a chance. Besides, isn’t Teen,Age nearly done, at least conceptually?”

“ _B-sides are mostly outlined, and we have a solid idea for the title,_ ” Bumzu agreed. “ _Okay, we’ll help out. But you’ll be the one telling Baekho he’s not getting complete control over production of the title._ ”

Aron winced at the reminder. Oh yes, he was so not looking forward to that chat. Nonetheless, he better deal with it now then later: he had more than enough time to break the news and get back to the conference room with Lee Jaedong and tell him the good news.

Good for him and Be One, that was.

* * *

  
The first thing Guanlin did once they all settled down in their bedrooms was to call Seonho. The younger CUBE trainee had always been a safe port for him, the first person he would always call if he needed anything. Lately, he added Jonghyun and Dongho on the list as well, but Seonho still held priority simply because he knew him longer.

“ _Hey, LinLin!_ ” Seonho was grinning from ear to ear as he looked at the camera for their FaceTalk. “ _Got yourself settled alright? Hyungs not giving you too much trouble?_ ”

“No, they’re - they’re great,” Guanlin reassured the younger. “How are you? Is Dongho _hyung_ taking good care of you?”

“ _Everyone is taking good care of us,_ ” Seonho gushed. “ _They’re being so nice and kind, I’m so amazed they’re even real! And guess what, LinLin: I met one of the big, big sunbaes today!_ ” The crash resounded through the line. “ _Actually, they’re still here. Maybe we can chat with them for a second?_ ”

“ _Sunbaes_?” Guanlin was intrigued. NU’EST had been one of the _sunbaes_ Seonho considered ‘big’ – so who was this other _sunbae_ Seonho talked of? “Are they really that big?”

“ _Yeah! You’ll love them LinLin, I’m sure! They’re soooooo cool! And they have Chinese members, how cool is that?!_ ” Seonho was blabbering at this point as he walked towards the source of the ruckus, and Guanlin glimpsed the stark white and sky blue paint in the background. “ _Jonghyun hyung, LinLin is on the line!_ ”

“ _Really?_ ” Jonghyun entered the frame and waved at Guanlin, who had to fight off the rising blush. “ _Ni hao, Guanlin_ - _ie_. _Have you settled in well?_ ”

“Y-yes I have, Jonghyun _hyung_ ,” Guanlin nodded. “Have you?”

“ _Depends on who you ask_ ,” Jonghyun smiled mischievously. “ _Samuel-ie is not very happy right now._ ”

“Why?” Worry crept up in Guanlin’s chest. “Is he okay? Did he get a bad room or roommate?”

“ _No, nothing like that,_ ” Jonghyun laughed. “ _He just got visited by the ghosts of the past, and he’s most certainly NOT enjoying the experience._ ”

“ _Samuel-ie is just being a brat,_ ” an unfamiliar voice cackled off screen, and the voice was strangely familiar to Guanlin. Was this the _sunbae_ Seonho was talking about? “ _I know he loves all the attention from his hyungs – he’s the attention-hogger._ ”

“ _Indeed,_ ” Jonghyun laughed. “ _But you haven’t introduced yourself to Guanlin-ie, Jihoon-ah._ ”

“ _Ah, true. I must be spending too much time with Soonyoung – his lack of manners is contagious._ ” The shout from the background was ignored by both Jonghyun and the unknown speaker, who finally entered the frame.

Guanlin had to stuff his fist into the mouth to prevent himself from shrieking. _Damn you, Seonho!_ Why didn’t the brat prepare him for this heart attack?

“ _Hello, Lai Guanlin-ssi,_ ” Woozi of SEVENTEEN waved to him. “ _It’s nice to meet you after all the stories Jonghyun hyung and Dongho hyung told us about you._ ”

Dongho _hyung_ and Jonghyun _hyung_ talked about him to their _hoobaes?_ How was that possible? Guanlin’s mind was trying to process everything and failed to come up with rational explanation. He had no idea how _sunbae_ - _hoobae_ relationship worked in CUBE, but he was sure they weren’t nearly as open and close to each other as NU’EST and SEVENTEEN were.

What was going on here?

“ _I think you broke him, Jihoon,_ ” someone chided in Cantonese. “ _Let me talk to him, Jonghyun._ ”

“ _Of course, Minghao,_ ” Jonghyun replied easily in the same language and moved away, which only served to make Guanlin’s head spin even more. His _hyung_ knew Cantonese? Admittedly, there was a noticeable accent, but the sounds he made was undeniably Cantonese.

“ _Hello, hatchling,_ ” The8, or Minghao as Jonghyun called him, came into view. “ _Can you speak?_ ”

“Y-yes, Minghao- _jun,_ ” Guanlin fumbled a little in his native language over the honorific. _Ge_ would be kind of impolite, considering he had never met the other man, and _gong_ was far too formal for the situation.

“ _It’s difficult to switch over from Korean, isn’t it?_ ”Minghao smiled. “ _You can call me Minghao-ge to make it easier. Are you feeling well?_ ”

“Yes, just a little… overwhelmed,” Guanlin snuck a glance at Jonghyun.

“ _Ah, you miss what is familiar,_ ” Minghao nodded. “ _You are a quick learner, Guanlin: you’ll get used to new things. I’d only suggest you keep cussing out of the broadcasts, there are people who can both lip-read and understand you._ ”

Guanlin’s ears burned with shame at the reprimand, even if it was softened by the wink the other Chinese idol threw at him. He had no idea the camera caught him swearing at the time!

“I-I’ll do better, Minghao- _ge_ ,” Guanlin murmured.

“ _That’s the spirit. Now I’ll let you talk with your friend Seonho here: he looks ready to start talking with Jeonghan hyung, and that will only end in disaster. The world does not need another Lee Chan._ ”

“ _What about me?_ ” Another voice – Lee Chan, Guanlin wagered – whined off-screen. “ _Myungho hyung, did you badmouth me in front of our hoobaes?! Get back here, you traitor!_ ”

 

* * *

 

Samuel groaned as he let his body flop on the soft, fluffy mattress. He had not expected SEVENTEEN to show up unannounced in their new dorms, nor did he expect them to embarrass him as thoroughly as they did. Honestly, one would’ve thought he was the eldest one of the lot, not the _maknae_!

But he shouldn’t be complaining so much: when he realized he was not even in consideration for the 11th spot, he was sure this would be the end. There was no way he would debut with Wanna One, and he wasn’t sure if _Brave_ would give him a solo debut quickly enough. Be One came as a salvation, even though he had heard Aron _hyung_ discussing some of the obstacles they’d have to face with other NU’EST _hyungs_ – songs not being ready, public being torn between liking them and demonizing them for stealing the spotlight from Wanna One… It was one fine mess.

“Hey, Samuel?” His new roommate Haknyeon peeked in. The guy looked a little flustered after chatting with SEVENTEEN _hyungs_ , and Samuel couldn’t blame him: people needed some time to get used to _Pledis Boyz_ level of crazy. “Um, can I unpack now? I won’t be bothering you or anything?”

“Nah, go ahead _hyung_ ,” Samuel yawned and motioned for Haknyeon to come in. “Are you okay? SEVENTEEN can be a bit… much, if you’re not prepared.”

“A-ah, no, no!” Hakyneon raised his hands in denial and sat on the bed. “They’re okay! I just wasn’t expecting them to be so… relaxed? I mean, they are still our _sunbaes_.”

“Not when they’re around NU’EST _hyungs_ , they aren’t” Samuel snorted, recalling his time in _Pledis_ with sudden bout of nostalgia. “They are all really tight – Seungcheol _hyung_ nearly debuted with them, and they visited us in their downtime so often we felt like they are our big brothers instead of our _sunbaes_.”

“That must’ve felt wonderful,” Haknyeon said with a bitter smile, and Samuel frowned. He had nearly forgotten Haknyeon currently had no company to represent him. Aron _hyung_ had dealt with _Cre.Ker_ _sajagnim_ just this morning, finalizing the break of trainee contract Haknyeon had with them.

“Haknyeon _hyung_ … am I being insensitive to you?”

“No, no, it’s not your fault,” Hakyneon sighed and opened his suitcase. “I guess I just felt a bit jealous of you. _Cre.Ker_ had plans to debut a new group, and I was supposed to be in it if I failed to make it into Wanna One.” He glanced at the phone. “I guess… after seeing you with SEVENTEEN, I hoped one of the trainees would call me, or send me a message on KaTalk before they take our phones away.”

Oh. So that was the root of the problem. Samuel blitzed from his bed to the other side of the room, settling right next to Haknyeon and throwing a hand around his shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Samuel gave his best to soothe the elder’s pain. “Aron _hyung_ will find you a company to represent you properly: you don’t need people who will ditch you the moment you express an opinion different from their own. Worst case scenario, I or Aron _hyung_ can get you settled with _Pledis_ or _Brave_.”

Haknyeon shook his head and stayed silent, but Samuel spotted a small smile on his lips and decided to count that as victory.

“You’ll be okay,” Samuel said after a few moments of companionable silence. “You’ll see. Jonghyun _hyung_ won’t let it be any other way. He can be really, really stubborn about those things. And Dongho _hyung_ and Minki _hyung_ aren’t far behind, either. We’ll be okay.”

“I hope so, Samuel- _ie_. I hope so.”


	8. Talking with people is very important (Sungwoon, Minki, Soonyoung)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's high time Wanna One starts clicking together, and Be One to figure out what they want to do for their debut (since they're essentially on their own). SEVENTEEN's just along for a ride and for front-row seats for the drama that's slowly cooking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yey! Hello 2019, hello NU'EST! I can't tell you how excited I am to finally ditch that W in the name :D  
> I am a bit sad Wanna One is disbanding, they made so many good memories in the past 18 months, but I'm happy they'll end things on a high note, and that most of the members already have plans for the future.  
> Also, who is also lowkey/highkey excited for You Made My Dawn? Seriously, I'm going mad here waiting for the album to drop! The teasers look so gorgeous! _insert your favorite flailing gif here_  
>  Anyway, on to the story! (And happy early birthday to our Diva Booyonce!)  
> P.S. Soonyoung is so biased here, I'm cracking up.

“A month? _A month?_ ” Sungwoon had to stop himself from tearing his hair out. How were they supposed to learn not one, but _two_ new choreographies, record seven songs and prepare three stages in under a month?

Even he, a debuted idol, would be hard-pressed to do this, let alone the newbies and chicks like Guanlin!

“We can do it _hyung_ ,” Minhyun patted him on the back. “We’ll have to work extra hard, though – I can take Jinyoung, Guanlin and Jaehwan, if you want.”

“Oh, thank you,” Sungwoon sighed in relief. “Daniel and Seongwoo can fend for themselves, and I’ll help Daehwi, Jihoon and Jisung.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Minhyun nodded, a spark of determination in his eyes. “But, Sungwoon _hyung_ , can you promise me something?”

“Sure?” Sungwoon blinked, rather taken aback at the urgency in Minhyun’s voice. This wasn’t going to be an ordinary request, Sungwoon could feel it.

“If you need help from anyone – and I mean, anyone – call them, okay? Or tell me what you need, and I’ll let Aron _hyung_ know, he knows everyone in the industry,” Minhyun murmured, looking from the corner of his eye to their younger members. The younger ones were sitting in the circle on the floor and playing spin the bottle, with Seongwoo, Daniel and Jisung watching them from the couches.

Sungwoon looked at the same direction and gulped.

“Thank you, Minhyun,” he whispered. “I – I never thought I’d be in this position. A _hyung_ to so many inexperienced kids. At least I knew my HOTSHOT members by heart!”

“Me neither,” Minhyun chuckled bitterly. “I was basically a _maknae_ myself both in NU’EST and pre-debut in _Pledis Boyz_. Jonghyun was always the one taking care of us, and Aron was good at connecting with other people. I suck at that, to be honest.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that,” Sungwoon chuckled, recalling their time on _Produce_.

Minhyun had been the most awkward NU’EST member there: despite Mnet portraying Dongho as the scary and inapproachable one, it was actually Minhyun who had least contact with fellow trainees. Coupled with the fact Minki and Jonghyun were _dongsaeng_ collectors with their easy smiles and warm attitude, people didn’t bother trying to get closer with the princely visual, leaving him with only Jaehwan, Seonho and his label mates as friends for a long time.

Sungwoon himself had fallen in the same trap, chatting with him casually but never trying to get closer. Now, he was determined to rectify that mistake and get to know Minhyun better. He was in his group, and he was going to be the chief disciplinarian in the house (Jisung was useless at that) – he needed to know more about him.

“So, if I need help, call people you know or tell you to tell… Aron _hyung_?” Sungwoon frowned as he recalled the boy who was the current manager of Be One. He knew Aron was the final NU’EST member, lead dancer and sub-rapper thanks to quick Naver search, but that was it. “Why would you tell him?”

“He’s a social butterfly, that’s why,” Minyhun snorted. “I swear, he has half the industry on the speed dial, and friends in every major company. Did you know he often talks with _f(x)_ and knows SHINee personally?”

“What?!” Minhyun had to be joking!

“Yep,” Minhyun smirked a little. “He’s friends with Amber, and she’s friends with most of the SM – that’s how he knows so many people. Soonyoung – Hoshi, you know – nearly strangled him when he told him he had a signed SHINee album with a personal message from every member.”

“Uh, SEVENTEEN’s Hoshi? Is he a fan of SHINee, or…?” Sungwoon scratched the back of his head, the facts still not computing in his head. Taemin was his friend, so he had heard of other idols being SHINee fans, but hearing it from someone close to said idols was beyond strange.

“A big one,” Minhyun shook his head. “Jonghyun used to joke he and I could make an SM fanboy club at _Pledis_ , since I like DBSK and he loves SHINee.”

“O-oh,” Sungwoon blinked at the unexpected piece of information. “Who’s your favorite?”

“Junsu,” Minhyun smiled. “I hope I’ll be able to go to his concert once he gets discharged from military. He was the reason I became an idol in the first place.”

“Well, I hope we’ll have time – with promotions and all,” Sungwoon hummed. “When is his enrollment ending?”

“November next year,” Minhyun frowned. “I really hope YMC won’t give us the final comeback during that time.”

“Who knows – maybe we’ll end up like IOI, disbanding before the contract ends?” Sungwoon tried to be optimistic. Wanna One was a wonderful and miraculous chance Lady Luck had given him, but he wasn’t sure if the final outcome would be worth it. Year and a half away from his group _hurt_.

“Doubt it. Have you seen the hype around our and Be One’s debut on Naver?” Minhyun snorted. “I bet they’ll try and keep us together as long as they can without outright violating the contracts with the companies.”

“Money.” Sungwoon was aware his face was currently set in a truly unflattering grimace, but he couldn’t help himself. Money was the main thing that kept the industry spinning, but some companies and people took that proverb way too seriously. “We’ll have to argue, won’t we?”

“Probably,” Minyhun agreed. “Daniel and Jisung are in no position, since MMO is CJ’s subsidiary, Jaehwan is signing a contract with them, and everyone else has unclear future with their companies and most are too young – they won’t be taken seriously. Can’t believe I’ll be using my ‘already debuted once’ status again, though.”

“Everything for the group, right?” Sungwoon glanced at the rest of the group.

“Everything,” Minhyun agreed.

* * *

 

“ _Annyeong_ , Jihoon- _ie_ ,” Minki waved to the SEVENTEEN producer and vocal unit leader. “Bumzu _hyung_.”

“ _Annyeong, Minki hyung,_ ” Woozi waved back, sitting on the other side of the Skype line. Bumzu was on his left, a notepad and black pen ready for taking the notes. “ _Annyeong, Be One!_ ”

“ _Annyeonghaseyo_ , Woozi _sunbae,_ ” the rest of Be One chorused, bowing a little.

“Before you ask, Dongho will be here soon,” Minki said quickly, and Woozi snapped his mouth shut. “He’s talking with his dad.”

“ _Oh! Is he okay?_ ” Woozi leaned forward, sounding concerned.

“I don’t know,” Minki shook his head, feeling a bit put out at Dongho. He hadn’t said a word about his father’s condition ever since he got the leukemia diagnosis. “But he seems okay for now, so I guess there’s no bad news.”

“ _That’s good,_ ” Woozi sighed in relief. “ _We need him at full capacity to make this work. So, lay it out. What do you want to go with?_ ”

“Well, we talked a lot,” Jonghyun said, twirling a pen on his own between his fingers. “And we figured Wanna One will have more cute, boy-next-door sort of debut – likely a love song in line of Adore U.”

“ _Like us?_ ” Woozi snorted. “ _Well, now I know what to stay away from. I’m guessing something aggressive is out, too?_ ”

“Yep,” Aron nodded, standing behind Be One. “No need for people to start comparing it with Face or Action.”

“ _Hmm… I have an idea, but I need to run it through Dongho,_ ” Bumzu finally spoke. “ _What about something sentimental? Not too slow, you guys are still quite young, but emotionally charged._ ”

Minki shared a quick look with the other boys. Sewoon and Seonho looked very excited at the prospect; Hyeongseop, Samuel and Haknyeon looked interested; but Jonghyun and Youngmin… they looked a bit worried.

“Something like Hello?” Minki asked, heart beating a little faster. “Or Don’t Wanna Cry?” Those two songs, while emotional, still featured rap in prominent position, so everyone would get their spotlight.

“ _Don’t Wanna Cry would be a good base,_ ” Woozi mused as he scribbled something on his own stack of papers and showed it to Bumzu. The other producer nodded and started writing. “ _But I’d have to remix it a lot – I’m not sure EDM is the way to go for you._ ”

“Don’t you dare copy the EDM vibe, Jihoon, you hear me?” Dongho finally appeared, startling Minki a bit. For a person who physically took up so much space, the guy moved like a freaking ninja! “R&B sound suits our vocals much better.”

“ _Don’t worry, Dongho hyung!_ ” Woozi cackled on the other side. “ _Bumzu hyung will murder me in your place if I screw it up. Any ideas of your own about the album?”_

“We’re taking Open Up, no questions asked,” Dongho sat down, Samuel and Jonghyun moving a bit to create space for him. “Wanna One is doing Pick Me, Always and Never – we may as well do Open Up.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it happen,” Aron smirked, and Minki couldn’t hold back a delighted smile. He loved when his _hyung_ pulled out his bag of tricks and the contacts in the industry.

“ _Okay, sooo… R &B title, Open Up, and whatever we can salvage from YMC songs._” Woozi made a disgusted face. “ _They’re so **generic** , Dongho, it hurts my eyes to look at them, let alone listen. Sewoon-ssi, do you have anything?_”

Sewoon jumped up a bit, and Minki hugged him to calm him down. Jonghyun sent Minki a wink for that little action, and the other fought back a rising blush.

“I-I think I have one or two that would fit in,” Sewoon said a little breathlessly. His inner Woozi fanboy, Minki though with smirk, had still not subsided. “They need rearranging and rap parts, but otherwise they’re okay.”

“ _Oh thank God,_ ” Bumzu drawled, looking exhausted. “ _And you Dongho? Don’t tell me you don’t have a stash, because we both know that’s not true._ ”

Woozi, Minki, Jonghyun and Aron cracked up, holding their sides as they laughed. The last time Dongho had said he didn’t have anything, Bumzu had found drafts for R.L.T.L and Look on one of Dongho’s many USB sticks, and blew up on him for holding back materials for album.

“Aah…” Dongho looked properly chastised. “I have two… but one is way too personal, and the other may not fit into the album.”

Minki blinked, then gasped. Was the first song Dongho talked about _Itdamyeon_? Because if it was, Minki absolutely agreed – that one was just way too personal.

“ _Send me the demo anyway. I’m sure we can do something about it not fitting in,_ ” Woozi was determined. “ _And since when are your songs NOT way too personal?_ ” Dongho choked on thin air. “ _Hey, I’m just telling the truth!_ ”

“You don’t get it, Jihoon. This one… it’s worse,” Dongho shook his head, bringing out a small notebook from his jacket pocket. “I can show you guys, if you want.”

“YES!” Be One boys chorused, but Minki stayed silent. He had sneaked a peek at the lyrics, and he couldn’t get excited over it.

Dongho cleared his throat, opened the right page, and started reading:

 _I wanna, wanna turn back the time we had_  
Memories that fall like stars  
I’m wandering and swaying  
In the twinkling times

 _How nice would it be if I could reach you_  
Even in my dreams, if I could stay one more night  
Like a fiction story, like a lie  
If only we can meet again and smile brightly

The silence that fell on the room after Dongho was finished was stifling.

“ _Well, this was personal,_ ” Bumzu spoke at last. “ _Pre-chorus and chorus, right?_ ”

“Y-yeah,” Dongho swallowed. “You see why I don’t want it on the album?”

“ _Yeah, I see it. The problem is, Dongho hyung, it fits the theme perfectly,_ ” Woozi pinched the bridge of his nose, and Minki could sympathize. The song had the potential to be so perfectly, heartbreakingly beautiful, but it was so personal to NU’EST. “ _You know what? You need to distance yourself from this - I’ll finish the lyrics and do the composition with Bumzu. Jonghyun, Youngmin, I’ll be talking to you later about the rap parts for this and Sewoon’s song, and I can salvage two of YMC’s songs – that’s a total of six tracks. It should be enough to please everyone._ ”

“Thank you for the help, Jihoon- _ie_ , Bumzu _hyung_ ,” Jonghyun bowed to the producers. “Say hello to SEVENTEEN, PRISTIN and After School _noonas_ for us, will you?”

“ _Will do. Good luck, everyone, and bye!_ ”

“Bye!” Be One said in unison, and the screen went black, with a disconnected sign in the center.

* * *

 

“Sheesh, they certainly aren’t having it easy,” Soonyoung frowned at the recording Jihoon sent him of the video call with Be One. “Are you sure you’ll be able to finish everything on tim and have our comeback ready, Jihoon- _ie_?”

“Absolutely,” Jihoon spun in his chair, the notepad beside him filled with little scribbles and annotations from Bumzu. “I’m only doing two songs from the scratch – the title, and that one.”

“Ooof,” Soonyoung groaned, looking at the lyrics. He really didn’t want to know what was going on in Dongho _hyung_ ’s head, but now he did. “Wait, the working title is _Itdamyeon_? Wow, some serious emo feels here, Dongho _hyung_.”

“Most of the album will be emotional in one way or another,” Jihoon shrugged, tapping the pan against the desk. “Open Up infatuation, this one longing, serenity and excitement from YMC, and I trust Sewoon’s will be cheerful.”

“Oh, that sounds pretty cool!” Soonyoung blinked, feeling the excitement rising. “Showing different sides of themselves… so what will be the title?”

“I’m trying to think it up – but you’re distracting me!” Jihoon shooed him out of the studio. “Go and start doing our choreos!”

“Sir, yes sir!” Soonyoung saluted cheekily and darted out before Jihoon’s thrown pen could hit him in the head. Seriously, it was way too easy sometimes to rile Jihoon up – and Soonyoung loved teasing him.

But for all his abuse to him, Jihoon had one thing right: Soonyoung needed to start preparing the choreography. The title song wasn’t complete yet, but the demo gave him an idea what he wanted with it. There was no need to do a complicated one this time: maybe he'll throw Carats a bone and give them a choregraphy they can follow along, too? Ah well, he'll see what will work the best.

 _Are you ready, world?_ Soonyoung thought smugly as he entered the practice room and ordered Jun, Myungho and Dino to warm up. _Rock SEVENTEEN is coming to get you, so better clap with us!_

_And you better be prepared to be blown away by Be One, too. I know you’re waiting for Wanna One more, but I can guarantee Be One will be more impressive._


	9. NOT A NEW CHAPTER!!! (will be replaced soon)

As I have pointed out in the title of this chapter - this is merely an update.

I've reached the point in this fanfic where I need your input, because let's be real - if you peeps weren't reading this, I wouldn't be here continuing this.

But anyway... enough me blabbing. I need help, ASAP. Next chapter of Be One will be dealing with both Wanna One and Be One prepping for debut, and all the mess that comes with it. However... Be One doesn't have a debut song yet. I re-opened an old Twitter account of mine (and it will be my primary writing/fanfiction account for several of my ongoing works) to ask you a question: do you want Be One to debut with pre-existing song (in that case, leave suggestions in the comments on Twitter and here), or the new song that I wrote while I was re-writing Itdamyeon(If you)?

The handle is @EmmaSTyler, and the song's name is With Me.

**_This text is chorus_ **

_The sun has not woken me yet_

_My heart still sleeps, cos you're not with me  
_

_But I believe in star showers_

_And whispers of eastern winds_

_That you're coming soon_

_To be by my side_

_Turn the lights on and get ready_

_Our era's dawn is here_

_I wanna meet you, in the daylight,_

_Face to face, my heart with yours,_

_Beating in sync, no need for words_

**_Be with me, make me shine_ **

**_So everyone can see me even with their eyes closed_ **

**_Don't send me away, keep me close to your heart_ **

**_Until the stars go out, shine with me_ **

**Are you with me?**

_Ey yo, Be One here  
_

_Second-rate, second-chance,_

_It's what they say, but I don't care_

_The only thing that I need_

_Is you being here with me_

_Let me in your heart and I will light your day_

_But I need you to trust me, and see me as I am_

_Turn the lights on and get ready,_

_For you'll do everything_

_I wanna meet you, hear your voice_

_Your love, baby, makes me strong_

_Stay with me, no need for words_

**_Be with me, make me shine_ **

**_So everyone can see me even with their eyes closed_ **

**_Don't send me away, keep me close to your heart_ **

**_Until the stars go out, shine with me (2x)  
_ **

_So be with me, even when the lights go out...  
_

**Are you with me?  
**


	10. Why is this happening to us right now? (Jonghyun, Woojin, Seungcheol)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3rd of July, 2017. 'Nuff said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mostly an angst-filled chapter, without much plot - next one is going to be plot heavy. Also, you all voted for the new song, so Be One is getting a me-original debut song, With Me!  
> Also, I finished re-vamping Itdamyeon, which is now titled Miss You... a little spoiler for you lot:
> 
> _So many words we haven’t said out loud_   
>  _Because we had to be something we’re not_   
>  _But in the end, no words can tell you_   
>  _How I feel right now._
> 
> The spoiler is me feeling guilty, bcs I wanted to do this on Monday... but then SVT YMMDawn happened. And Shh. And Home. And Good To Me. And Baekho's OST. And other personal stuff. Rn I'm so emotionally empty... but I guess I'm feeling good enough to take my uni exams next week. Wish me luck, and see you in about two weeks!

The morning of 3rd of July started well enough. Jonghyun had managed to get everyone out of bed before seven and around the table where Aron’s thoughtful order of various small snacks, fruits and assortment of juice drinks were laid out. His _hyung_ had taken notice of the past week’s many sleepless nights the group pulled to do as much recording as they could without title track available, and decided to take care of them in the only way he now could – by spoiling them rotten.

Jonghyun would be lying if he said the gesture didn’t warm his heart. Aron somehow always knew what they needed in any given moment, and bent over backwards to deliver it. What had he done in his past life to deserve such a wonderful friend and _hyung_?

“Huh?” Seonho yawned, blinking at the full table. “This for us, _hyung_?”

“Yep,” Jonghyun patted his newest group _maknae_. “We need to finish the recording for I.P.U., so no cheating!”

That particular jab was aimed at Minki and Sewoon, whose gazes were firmly fixed on fizzy drinks.

“Aww, but Jonghyun- _ie_!” Minki pouted, and Jonghyun had to fight the urge to just go over and hug his Ren-flower. That boy was a debuted idol: he knew which lines were not to be crossed, even when he decided to weasel out the permission by using his signature pout.

“No is no, Rennie,” Jonghyun shook his head and guided still sleep-addled Seonho to his seat. “Same to you, Sewoon- _ie_. Dongho will have an aneurysm if any of his vocalists crack because they drank too much fizzy drinks in the morning.”

“Not even a sip?” Sewoon’s shoulders slumped forward. “I promise I won’t drink much, Jonghyun _hyung_.”

“Nope, not at all,” Jonghyun stayed firm in his decision. “I’ll move it off the table for later, if you wish.”

“Well…” the second main vocalist of Be One scratched the back of his head. “I guess? If I’m not constantly seeing it…”

“That’s the spirit,” Jonghyun praised him as he took away the two bottles and stored them in the fridge. The farther the temptation was, the better.

A close eye on the two trouble-seekers would also not go amiss. The younger kids were more than willing to go with Jonghyun’s advice, relying on his experience and age, but Minki had seen all the stupid stuff he had once done and Sewoon was way too close to him in age to take his advice so seriously. There was no way one of them won’t try to get to the fridge while his back was turned.

“Morning Samuel- _ie_ , Hyeongseop- _ie_ ,” Jonghyun greeted the boys as the stumbled their way into the kitchen, showing the thoughts on Sewoon and Minki to the backburner. “Ready to dance today?”

“Sorta,” Samuel yawned. “I’m still trying to pin down that I.P.U. bridge movement, ya know -” and he proceeded to demonstrate the complex hand move, nearly crashing into Seonho. “Sorry, Seonho! But you see what I mean? It’s just… argh! It just doesn’t flow right with the track.”

“He kept me up till one in the morning before Hakyeon and I wrestled him into the bed and took his phone away,” Hyeongseop smiled, but the tiredness was easy spotted in his voice. “But I agree, _hyung_ : that move just doesn’t sit well with the rest of the song.”

“We’ll see,” Jonghyun reassured his fellow dancers. He _had_ felt the move to be a little off-beat and unnatural in the rhythm of the song, but he’ll have to see it on recording today to be completely sure. “I’ll talk with Yana- _noona_ to rearrange that part if it becomes that big of an issue.”

Yana- _noona_ was their choreographer and Samuel and Jonghyun’s savior: she was more than willing to help them choregraph under impossible time constraints and liked bringing them dry fruits and nuts with their extra water bottles. Other boys _adored_ her, and Jonghyun freely admitted he enjoyed her pampering.

Being eldest and a leader sometimes sucked; everyone expected you to be strong, and they rarely asked how you were feeling or tried to take care of you. Minki, Aron, Dongho and Minhyun, stars bless them, tried their best (Minki was particularly good in catching his foul moods, and Aron in soothing him without looking overbearing), but they had their own problems and couldn’t always watch out for him.

In addition, Jonghyun had a… bit of a problem in communicating his feelings to others. Dongho, the ever blunt and honest Dongho, scolded him to no end for his habit of hiding and bottling things up: heck, even _Minhyun_ did that, and that was the prime case of pot calling kettle black. But Jonghyun couldn’t help himself – someone had to take care of everyone, and seeing them smile was enough to soothe his battered heart.

He could do this. He knew he could.

“Morning,” Dongho yawned, dragging Haknyeon and Youngmin who were still in their PJs into the room with him. “Sorry J-ah, I had to wake up these slumbering princesses up.”

“Not a princess,” Youngmin grumbled, finally twisting out of Dongho’s grasp. “Just wanna sleep.”

“You’d make a killer princess though,” Minki tilted his head and took in Youngmin from head to toes, slipping into his ‘Ren the fashion icon’ role. “Yeah, long skirt would suit you.”

“Stop scaring my boys, Minki,” Aron trudged into the room, and Jonghyun noted he looked unusually dispirited, shoulders slumped and clothes lacking vibrancy of colors. “Not everyone has the shamelessness to wear whatever catches their fancy.”

“They don’t know what they’re missing out,” Minki shrugged. “What’s with you, Aron _hyung_?”

“Ah… I don’t know if I should break it like this…” Aron looked at the suddenly more alert boys. “It’s a bit… ah, what the heck. You guys will know soon anyways. Dongho- _ya_ , your mum called.”

“ _Eomma_?” Dongho stopped carding his fingers through Haknyeon’s hair and perked up. “Why did she call you?”

“Because your phone’s with me, dummy,” Aron’s snarky reply fell flat. “It’s about your dad.”

Dongho’s face paled, and Jonghyun didn’t think before moving to his adopted brother’s side. Minki followed suit, with the rest of boys huddling around the eldest trio. Samuel even paved his way from the outside ring to sitting hip-to-hip and shoulder-to-shoulder with Haknyeon, who had been pulled into Dongho’s lap.

“Is he in hospital again?” Dongho asked, his voice wavering. Jonghyun felt his heart crack a little: if only he could take his pain away.

“Well, sort of… he was in a car accident,” Aron murmured. “I didn’t get everything your _eomma_ said, lots of it was her reading medical terms... but I’m not sure he’ll last.”

Jonghyun gripped Dongho’s bicep, trying to anchor his main vocal and producer through the looming storm. He felt rather than saw Dongho’s falling tears. His father may not have always been the most supportive man in his life, but Dongho loved him and that was enough for Jonghyun.

“We’re with you, _hyung_ ,” Samuel whispered, obviously getting the same idea as Jonghyun. “Okay? We’re with you.”

“ _Ne_ ,” Minki agreed. “We’ll be with you. Got it, Dongho- _ya_?”

Dongho sniffled and nodded, prompting everyone to huddle closer to him.

* * *

  
“What?” Daniel nearly crashed into the low wooden table in the dorm’s common room. “Dongho _hyung_ ’s dad died? But – the donations! – what – ”

Woojin sighed at his _hyung_ ’s clumsiness and out-of-control limbs. He sympathized with the _hyung_ he had only spoke with briefly during Produce (they never collaborated together), unlike Daniel who worked with him closely, but really.

“Calm down, Daniel _hyung_ ,” Woojin slapped the other dancer on the back. “And let Minhyun _hyung_ speak.”

Minhyun smiled, haggard look in his eyes not enough to mask his gratitude.

“It wasn’t leukemia,” Minhyun explained. “A car accident. He’s not dead _yet_ , but according to doctors he soon will be.”

“Oh,” Daehwi murmured, playing with a pen he had found somewhere and now used every time when the inspiration struck him or when he felt very nervous. Woojin guessed his labelmate was firmly in the ‘very nervous’ category right now. “That’s so sad. He didn’t get to say goodbye.”

Woojin suddenly recalled a late-night talk he had with younger boy before they set off for Produce.

_“What about your family, Daehwi-ya?”_

_Woojin wasn’t really interested in knowing too much about Daehwi’s family, but he needed a relatively safe topic that could crack the icy silence between them. His labelmates were easy to talk to, but Woojin had a nagging feeling he kept talking **at** Daehwi, instead of with him, unlike Youngmin and Donghyun. Family talk might help him get through that wall._

_“Oh, my family?” Daehwi blinked. “They’re okay. My mum, my sister… that’s it.”_

_“No father in the picture?” Woojin tilted his head. This wasn’t unusual – he had heard many stories about divorced, sick and dead parents during his time in BNM. Most of them were second-hand, but they still counted._

_“I… father died a while ago,” Daehwi muttered into his pillow. “He was very sick. I promised him my first signed album when I debut…”_

_“Oh.”_

_Woojin had nothing more to add. The talk had only thickened the awkwardness between them, so Woojin gave up on socializing and decided to do that later. There was still time to get to know Daehwi better after – Produce was still some time away._

Daehwi knew what he was talking about.

“Will he be okay?” Guanlin worried his lower lip. “Can we call him or something, Minhyun _hyung_?”

“He’s already on his way to Incheon,” Minhyun shook his head. “He’ll be catching first flight to Jeju he manages to snag. Aron promised he’ll call our manager with the time of service when it’s established.”

“Will be able to pay our condolences?” Daniel, now much calmer and more coordinated, returned to his seat, pulling nearby Seongwoo closer to him. “I mean, I don’t think they’ll let us go to the service, but you know – send a letter, or flowers or something.”

“I don’t know,” Minhyun shrugged helplessly, and Woojin could see how much that lack of assuredness rubbed his _hyung_ raw. He looked ready to just call it quits, head right after Dongho and comfort him. “But we can make the letter, pool money together for the flower arrangement and send it directly to Aron _hyung_ or to _Pledis_ – they’ll both be able to get it to Dongho discreetly.”

Woojin winced at the reminder how discreet they needed to be in their interactions with Be One. He could not believe some of the things he had seen on Twitter, Pann and their Instagram profiles in reaction to them commenting on each other’s posts. Heaven, were they supposed to ignore each other for the next eighteen months? Not talk and look in the public?

“Let’s hope that won’t happen again,” Jinyoung sighed, startling the rest of the room. He had been silent for over fifteen minutes. “I’d like to keep in touch with Be One like normal.”

“Well, I know a certain loudmouth who won’t stand for us ignoring each other,” Sungwoon snickered, leaning at the doorpost, groceries in his hands. “There’ll be no stopping Samuel and Seonho. Hey everyone. Why the long faces?”

“Ah…” Minhyun looked at Sungwoon, and Woojin decided to have some mercy on his poor _hyung._

“I’ll explain things later Sungwoon _hyung_.” With those words he dragged his _hyung_ into one of the empty dorm rooms (Daniel, Seongwoo, and Jisung’s, coincidentally), and sat him down for a quick recap of Dongho _hyung_ ’s situation.

* * *

 

“I see. I’ll tell Jihoon. Bye.”

Seungcheol ended the call with Aron and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was the last sort of news his producer and co-leader needed, but there was no helping the situation. Dongho couldn’t have predicted his father would die so tragically and so suddenly. Jihoon and Bumzu were _definitely_ going to be pissed off, though.

“Bad news?”

Oh thank god, Jisoo was there. Seungcheol turned on his heel and grabbed the youngest of the _hyung_ trio, squishing the life out of him.

“Seungcheol, what -”

“Shhh,” SEVENTEEN leader whispered in Jisoo’s ear. “Just hug me, okay?”

“O..kay?” Jisoo stopped arguing after that, and Seungcheol eagerly soaked up the warmth and sheer calming presence that was Hong ‘Joshua’ Jisoo. He needed to remind himself his important people were alive, well and safe.

They just stood like that in the middle of the practice room for a few moments before Jisoo gently detangled himself from Seungcheol’s octopus-like grip.

“Cheolie, what’s wrong? Do I need to call Jeonghan?”

“No, I’m okay. Dongho’s dad died,” Seungcheol offered as an explanation for his uncharacteristic behavior.

“O-oh!” Jisoo’s eyes blew wide open. “Oh no! Is he okay?”

“He’s already on his way to Jeju,” Seungcheol sighed. “And I have to tell Jihoon he just lost Dongho for the next two weeks minimum.”

“Oh, that’s going to go over well,” Jisoo groaned. “Woozi is going to strangle the next person scheduled for recording.”

“Nah, he won’t – Soonyoung’s recording their duet today,” Seungcheol was sure of it. HoWoo were, despite the explosive arguments and Jihoon’s occasional violent fits at Soonyoung’s carelessness, too tight to let something like that set them back. “I’m the one who’ll get an earful today.”

“Ouch,” Jisoo patted him on the back. “Well, good luck, I guess? Call me if Jihoon becomes too much, okay? I’ll talk him down.”

“I love you Jisoo,” Seungcheol couldn’t stop himself from blurting out.

Jisoo just laughed and walked out of the practice room.

“Well, better to get this over with quickly,” Seungcheol sighed and went to the studio.

Jihoon was busy as usual, occasionally shouting at Soonyoung when he wasn’t happy with the quality of the recording. Other than that, he seemed pretty relaxed and happy. A blossom of hope bloomed in Seungcheol’s chest: maybe he will not end up completely chewed up and spit out, after all.

Only a little bit.

He knocked on the door of the studio, and Jihoon motioned him to come in.

“Seungcheol _hyung_ ,” Jihoon greeted him, eyes stuck on the two monitors and headphones around his neck. “Here to see Soonyoung mess up every line at least twice just to get on my nerves?”

“ _I’m not messing up on purpose, you’re just a damn perfectionist!_ ” Soonyoung hollered from the other side of the darkened glass of the recording booth. “ _Also, your instructions suck!_ ”

“No, you’re just not smart enough to process them,” Jihoon waved his fellow co-leader off before turning to the nominal leader of the entire SEVENTEEN. “So, why are you here _hyung_?”

“Uh… I have some bad news,” Seungcheol bit his lip. “Dongho’s dad died, Aron _hyung_ called me just now.”

“What? Died?” Jihoon swiveled in his chair, eyes wide and shoulders tense. “How? I thought leukemia –”

“Car accident,” Seungcheol explained. “He’s already on his way to Jeju.”

“Shit.” Jihoon ran his hand through his hair. “Why now… we were just about to wrap up the title and talk about rap parts with Youngmin and Jonghyun _hyung_ for three different songs.”

“Oh wow,” Seungcheol’s eyebrows shot up. They managed to do that much work in the past two weeks? “How much did you do?”

“I didn’t have a lot to do, to be honest,” Jihoon turned to the separating glass and made a gesture for Soonyoung to get out of recording booth and join them in the studio. “That’s why we’re so fast. Guess when you don’t have to do everything from the scratch speeds up the time.”

“Ah, I see,” Seungcheol nodded. “Okay, I delivered the message, can I go?”

“Nuh-uh, _hyung_ , we need to talk,” Jihoon smirked as Soonyoung entered the room. “Dongho, Bumzu and I were talking a bit, and we have an idea for a song… just the three of us.”

Soonyoung and Seungcheol exchanged flabbergasted looks.

“Talk!”


	11. Everyone grieves in their own way (Dongho, Sungsoo, Hyeongseop)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dongho's friends and family do their absolute best to be with him when he needs them the most, in whatever way they can.  
> Also, If You's new version is finally here...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The final filler chapter that sets up some important details for the rest of the fic...  
> I couldn't reply to the comments on the previous chapter (was very busy!) but to explain Jihoon's reaction: some people literally shut down their emotions as a way of coping with extreme stress. I'm that way, and I know just how it feels. You feel everything, but it's all muffled, distant, like it's happening to someone else and not you... and Jihoon admitted in one of the interviews he did that he has trouble expressing emotions directly. I took that and ran with it - it's not that he doesn't feel, it's more like it doesn't feel real.  
> (also please, don't do it often, it's NOT a healthy way of coping with things. Those emotions always crop back up and bite you back when you least expect them to)
> 
> Minhyun's BAAAAACK! I watched that surprise Vlive as it happened, and sobbed so badly... From introducing himself as NU'EST Minhyun, to Daybreak, to all those SMILES... he was so tired and so happy, I was floored with emotions. And that Lunar New Year greetings we got from both NU'EST and SVT... I was left feeling so warm. I need more of that fluffy, silly content!
> 
> Fair warning for this chapter: I had to hold back on the sobs. I knew what would be happening, and I still nearly got overwhelmed. Writing about funerals and death is a... difficult thing for me, bcs of my personal experiences in that area. I tried portraying Dongho as I see him: someone who's both fragile and strong, who will cry but only when he knows those around him won't judge him for it. I hope I did him justice.
> 
> Also, a tiny cameo from Han Sungsoo... please don't curse me too badly? I know various fandoms have various feelings about the man, but this cameo was needed. Doubt he'll be coming back for anything other than brief mentions.

The world felt so distant and numb, almost unreal at this point.

Dongho could barely look down at the coffin holding his father’s body as his family stood around to receive other mourners who knew his father or them. His mother had tears dribbling down her face, but she was quiet in her mourning: his brother, on the other hands, had screamed and wailed before but was now stone-faced, ready to take on the world. The rest of the family also kept quiet, lined around the altar with Kang Ikhyun’s picture framed in beautiful, delicate golden frame and adorned with black ribbon resting in the middle.

The two men from the funeral home checked if they were ready, and Dongho nodded for them to open the door.

The first people were, of course, his and his brother’s old schoolmates, and his mother’s friends and neighbors. Dongho teared up as he accepted quiet condolences and whispered words the mourners had never said to his father: _we miss him, he was great, he was a bit grumpy but never meant any harm, he was a good man, I wish he could see you succeed all the way._

He had never been ashamed of crying, but he hated doing it in front of people he didn’t know well enough or in front of those who he wasn’t sure would support him. But this… he knew _Pledis_ and YMC had not publicized the date of the funeral, so media and curious fans would be kept far away from the proceedings, knowing only that he was in mourning and temporarily unavailable, so he would be able to shed his tears freely, with no shame.

The first face from the idol world to cross the doorstep was, of course, his leader. Followed by the gaggle of children he now called his group mates and his old members, Jonghyun first bowed twice to the coffin, then bowed to Dongho and embraced him.

“Did you cry a lot?” Jonghyun asked him gently, and Dongho sniffed.

“Yes.”

“Good. Don’t keep it in,” his leader let him go. “We’ll wait for you, okay? Wanna One send you their condolences, since they can’t come.”

“I saw,” Dongho smiled shakily. An enormous wreath of flowers – mostly primroses and chrysanthemums – arrived that morning, decorated with black ribbons that had ‘May you rest well, Kang Ikhyun, father of Kang Dongho’ written on them, together with a little card with a fox sketch and words ‘sangnamja maknae’ in it.

The action had Minhyun’s fingerprints all over it, and Dongho could not express how much it meant to him.

Minki replaced Jonghyun, repeating the actions of respect before briefly pecking him on the cheek and squeezing his bicep.

“It’s okay not to be okay,” the gorgeous idol smiled sadly. “I’ll keep your room tidy.”

“Thank you,” Dongho hugged him. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“All the time, Baekho-ssi,” Minki winked, but there was no sparkle, no shine to the gesture: just tiredness that the other man tried chasing away with humor.

Seonho and Haknyeon he had to pry away from his body with iron clamps: the two had clung to him incessantly, trying to assure they were always with him and that he was their favorite _hyung_ , so he better come back to them well and smiling. Samuel, Hyeongseop, Youngmin and Sewoon were a bit easier to deal with – they just hugged him and whispered how much they wished they could be more with him.

Dozen more people came in, and Dongho was slowly preparing for the moment when the body would be cremated and put into the ground.

“Dongho- _ya_?”

Dongho blinked at the sight in front of him, before biting his lip to stop himself from bursting into fresh tears. Aron _hyung_ had finally come, and he brought with him Seungcheol, Jihoon, Seungkwan and Jason, his once-member while they were in China.

“Jason, Aron _hyung_ … Cheolie, Hoon, Seungkwan-ah…”

Seungkwan was the first one who snapped out of trance, and after quick bows nearly strangled Dongho with his hug. The other Jeju native held him in his arms, face resting on his shoulder and hands splayed over his back in show of their friendship, but said nothing. Seungcheol quickly patted him on the back, dabbing Dongho’s tears away, and Aron only squeezed him.

“I’ll finish everything for you,” Jihoon whispered fiercely in his ear, hugging his like his life depended on it. “I can’t mourn with you – you know why – but I’ll get you your album done before you return. I promise.”

“Thank you,” a fresh batch of tears spilled down Dongho’s cheeks. Jihoon had always had trouble with showing emotions to people, but he compensated for it by doing little things that mattered so much more than just words.

“Hey, hey,” Jason murmured in accented Korean, prying Jihoon gently away to hug Dongho. “Don’t be sad, _xiao hu._ Your father will always watch over you.”

Oh, how long he hadn’t heard that particular nickname. Fu Longfei, the boy Dongho had met years and years ago, was eager to give them all nicknames so he would feel a little closer to the boys from other culture and six years younger than him. _Little tiger_ was Dongho’s, and he hadn’t even realized how fiercely he missed it until Jason said in his deep, reassuring voice.

“Thank you, Longfei- _ge_ ,” Dongho muttered back in Chinese, intensely aware of suspicious looks several people were giving him and Chinese idol, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Jason had come to see him from China on short notice (Dongho didn’t want to know what exactly the other man had to do to get a visitor visa in less than three days) to pay respect to his father and out of memory of their past collaboration – he would not let anyone sour it for them.

“You will get through this, _xiao hu_ ,” Jason gave him a small, secretive smile, switching to Chinese. “ _Bai Hu_ became part of you, and he always returns to guard when he’s needed.”

“That, he does,” Dongho sighed, finally feeling a small piece of his heart slot back in place. It would take him time to bring himself back together after this, but Jason was right. He was not only Kang Dongho, but Baekho – White Tiger of the West – as well.

He would endure, if only for his friends and family.

* * *

 

“ _How is he, sajang-nim?_ ” Jieqiong fretted on other side of the FaceTalk. Pristin could not attend the funeral because of their conflicting schedules, but the updates were promised to everyone in _Pledis_ who couldn’t come.

“He’s shaken,” Han Sungsoo, CEO of _Pledis_ , sighed. “Jihoon and Seungcheol both noted he lost some weight, and Aron said his breath had a tinge of alcohol smell to it. All in all, he’s a grieving son – and he seems to be handling it reasonably well.”

“ _As long as he’s okay-ish,_ ” Nayoung, ever the pragmatic leader, chimed in. “ _Dongho oppa is strong, he just needs a little time to himself. Speaking of which, we just finished sorting through all of the fanmail that came in here for him today._ ”

Sungsoo smiled, remembering the enormous cardboard box _Pledis_ staff had liberated from SEVENTEEN’s dorm room that the boys had used to move things around to store all the condolence letters fans had sent. The box filled up so fast, After School and Pristin girls had to jump in on occasion to sort them out and bin anything that looked like hate-mail.

“Good work. How many did you have to bin?”

“ _Uhhhh… Raina-unnie? How many for the bonfire?_ ”

“ _Lots!_ ” Raina yelled from the other side. “ _Too many! But if I had to guess… less than hundred, but they were really nasty. Good thing Baekho isn’t around to see those._ ”

“Don’t let him, even if he begs,” Sungsoo warned his girls. Kyla had opened one of the hate letters after managing to talk Nayoung into giving it to her, and she nearly had a mental breakdown. He knew a lot of _Happy Pledis_ fans accused him of not caring enough for his boys and girls, but it was the exact opposite – he cared _too much_ sometimes. Fans had no idea how many things _Pledis_ never allowed their idols to see because they would get hurt by the negativity – anti-fans and haters didn’t always stop at Twitter, Pann and Naver wars.

“ _We won’t,_ ” Jieqiong promised. “ _Sajang-nim… some idols also sent in their letters._ ”

“Oh? Who?”

“ _The old After School unnies, mostly, and Son Dambi sunbae too. But there are others, too, from NU’EST’s friends and idol fans of theirs. What do we do with them?_ ”

Sungsoo nodded. He was not surprised about the old After School girls: Uee and Lizzy loved coddling Baekho, and he knew Kahi had not missed the opportunity to contact her _dongsaengs_ if only to reassure herself they were okay. Dambi- _ssi_ , she was a bit of a surprise, but then again, it wasn’t like she had left because of the boys.

NU’EST’s friends and fans, though…

“Names?”

“ _f(x) Amber,_ ” it was Nana who chimed in, “ _BTS Namjoon and Jimin, entire Wanna One, CLC’s Seunghee and… what did you write, Xiyeon? Oh yeah, BTOB sent their greetings too – apparently they couldn’t deliver the letter personally because they’re busy with the comeback, so someone from CUBE left it at the reception._ ”

“Okay,” Sungsoo relaxed. “Send them over here, and pick some of the nicest letters from fans too – Dongho will appreciate it.”

“ _Will do!_ ” And the line went silent.

Sungsoo sighed, shook his head and walked up to the doors behind which his idol was standing as the chief mourner. He knew he didn’t have to do this, but the boys hay relied on him so much during their training days – _Pledis_ was a much smaller company (it still wasn’t a big one, but back then it was even smaller), and he had time to spend with them. It felt wrong not to come and pay respects to the man who sired the boy he now called his idol.

“ _Sajang-nim_!” Dongho’s eyes widened as he greeted Sungsoo after the respects were paid. “I-how…”

“Someone had to take SEVENTEEN boys here, and I volunteered,” Sungsoo shrugged and embraced the idol. “Besides, I wanted to pay respects to my adopted son’s father.”

Dongho sniffed into his shoulder, and Sungsoo had a hard time not drifting back into the old memory of Dongho’s arrival at _Pledis._

_“This is Kang Dongho of Jeju – I think you’ll like him.”_

_The trusted scout had brought along the stocky boy as the new trainee, and Han Sungsoo couldn’t help but feel a little skeptical. The time of ‘beast-dols’ was slowly coming to an end, replaced by the more ‘flower-boy’ concepts, not to mention the boy would stand out in the middle of the pretty boys like Doyeon, Seungcheol, Minki and Jonghyun, and not in a good way. He better have something special to him._

_“Truly?”_

_The scout smirked. “He can sing. Not a lot, but he knows how to hold himself, like that pretty boy we picked recently.”_

_Now that? That Sungsoo could work with. The sole reason Minki was picked so quickly was because he literally radiated idol aura with no prior training. If this boy’s aura could compete with Minki’s, he would be a good addition to the family._

_“Can I see?” he turned to the shifting, insecure boy._

_“Uh, I guess…” Dongho cleared his throat and sang a verse of ‘Mirotic’._

_Before he was even halfway done, Sungsoo was smirking from ear to ear. He had a future vocalist on his hands – Pledis Boyz’s debut looked all the more real. Now, if only he could a proper ‘visual’ and maybe a foreigner to complete his list…_

Dongho was a lucky find, and Sungsoo had to take care of him – his main vocalist could be extremely fragile at times, always feeling slightly out of place in the industry filled with flower boys. His members knew how to soothe him, but Han Sungsoo was the one who held his contract, the one who showed him he could stand out so much.

* * *

 

Waiting for Dongho to come back to them was a torture.

Hyeongseop bit his lip as his eyes skated over the music sheets with one of two songs Woozi had given them – Be One decided not to touch their most important B-side track until the initial lyricist returned to them. _With Me_ , the title, was already recorded (and Hyeongseop can _not_ wait for Dongho to return as their recording master, Lee Jihoon was _terrifying, how can someone that’s literally a head shorter than every one of them be so goddamn scary_ ) and Samuel, Jonghyun _hyung_ and he already had most of the moves done – they were only waiting for Dongho to record his part to start working on the choreo and do that blasted song.

“Hey, Hyeongseop- _ie_ ,” Minki plopped down on the couch next to him. “Anxious about this song?”

“Can’t wait to record with Dongho _hyung_ ,” Hyeongseop admitted, shuddering. “Woozi _sunbae_ was…”

“Terrifying little shit?” Minki completed the sentence with a devious grin. “Baby, at least you weren’t a trainee with him – he used to chase Mingyu around with his guitar.”

Hyeongseop felt his jaw hit the floor. _What_ had his _hyung_ just said?!

“Yup-yup!” Minki nodded mock-seriously. “Jihoon- _ie_ has a bit of a temper problem, or should I say, he has a problem with idiots who keep pestering him. God, the number of times he chased people around with guitar… Mingyu was his main punching bag, but damn, Aron and I nearly got hit once too – totally accidental, he was trying to hit Seungkwannie – his singing was making Seungcheol’s headache worse.”

Hyeongseop could only pinch the bridge of his nose as his head spun around. This was… he had rarely heard the stories of pre-debut idols being exaggerated, but these really fell under the category of ‘you have to see it to believe it’.

“Anyway… have you seen the song?”

“No,” Hyeongseop frowned. “I thought we were waiting for Dongho _hyung_?”

“Doesn’t stop you from checking out your parts,” Minki shrugged, taking the sheets and searching for his part. “Ah, so we’re harmonizing chorus, that’ll be fun… and solid two lines for everyone and little extra for Sewoon and Dongho to show off their vocals – dayum Jihoon- _ie_ , you’re really a master of distribution…”

Now interested, Hyeongseop picked up the sheets himself and searched for his part, only to instantly tear up.

_I know I had stayed silent and went with the flow,_

_It was easy back then, but now I regret it like you wouldn’t know._

“Minki- _hyung_ …” Hyeongseop whispered, caressing the paper sheet. The entire song’s lyrics made his want to scream and wail – it was like someone had taken all the darkest thoughts in his head and transformed into the heart-wrenching lyrics sitting innocently on the paper.

“Yeah, Jihoon really went all out with this,” Minki nodded. “Wanna try some parts?”

Hyeongseop nodded, and after short debate about which parts they wanted, the two started singing.

**_A star has fallen tonight,_ **

**_And I have made a wish as it fell:_ **

**_If only, if only you could hear my voice,_ **

**_I have so much to tell you, cos I miss you._ **

The two lines before his were supposed to be Haknyeon’s, but Hyeongseop took them as his own and imagined the heartbreak his member felt for being ignored.

_Will you call me tonight? I wanna hear your voice,_

_Maybe you don’t miss me, but I think of you a lot_

_I know I had stayed silent and went with the flow,_

_It was easy back then, but now I regret it like you wouldn’t know_

Minki chimed in, his part first and then Sewoon’s after.

_So many words we haven’t said out loud_

_Because we had to be something we’re not_

_But in the end, no words can tell you_

_How I feel right now._

And together, they sang chorus again and the final verse:

**_A star has fallen tonight,_ **

**_And I have made a wish as it fell:_ **

**_If only, if only you could hear my voice,_ **

**_I have so much to tell you, cos I miss you._ **

_Hey, I have something to tell you…_

**_I miss you._ **

“It’s so pretty,” Minki said quietly after they finished. “I almost don’t want it recorded.”

“It’s so personal,” Hyeongseop nodded.

The pair exchanged deep, understanding looks.


	12. What the blazes was that?! (Jihoon, Samuel, Jisung)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Be One's debut is here! Get ready for the mess... :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been absent for a while, and I'm so, so sorry, but I just couldn't nail this chapter properly. It's longer than usual to compensate (close to 3.5k - my usuals are 2.5k), and that's with me omitting most of Wanna One's reactions to Be One's debut song. I have a feeling I'll need to make a separate one-shot collection to deal with everyone's reaction lmao.  
> Anyways, enjoy, because things are heating up at rapid speed!

“Jihoon, I swear to God if you don’t wake up _this instant_ , I _will_ throw water over you!”

“Don’t hurt me _hyu-ng_ ,” Park Jihoon whined, burrowing himself deeper into the warm embrace of the blanket _M Countdown!_ staff _noona_ gave to him to fend off the chill and let them wait comfortably for the final call-in and announcement of the winner. Wanna One already knew they weren’t winning anything this week because of the rules being the way they were, so Jihoon decided to take a nap while everyone else was rushing about.

Jisung _hyung_ , however, was not having any of it.

“Yah, Jihoon- _ah_ , you can’t mess up the stylists’ hard work! You’ll sleep after the show is over!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jihoon yawned and escaped Jisung’s grasp to sit next to Daehwi, who was fiddling with Taehoon- _hyung’s_ , their manager’s, phone. “Daehwi- _ya_ , you better not be looking through Pann and Instagram comments.”

“I’m not!” Daehwi shook his head. “I’m waiting for Be One’s VLive to start.”

“They’re having a VLive now?” Like twin shadows, Seongwoo and Daniel appeared at Daehwi’s and Jihoon’s side, nearly sending Jihoon’s heart into a cardiac arrest.

“Don’t do that, _hyung-deul_!” Jihoon snarled at them, clutching his chest. “You nearly scared me half to death!”

“Stop dramatizing Jihoon- _ah_ , I’m the one in charge of that here,” Seongwoo flipped his hair a bit to get his point across. “And Shut up, I want to see what they’re doing!”

Daehwi tapped for full-screen option, and the entire Be One showed up on the phone’s surface. They were dressed stylishly, but without too much makeup – which kind of fitted the mood, since they were doing the VLive from their dorm’s living room.

“ _Bright and bold, Be One! Anyeonghaseyo, Be One inmida!_ ”

Jihoon blinked a little, surprised at the introduction and the little gesture they did as part of it. They placed closed right fist next to their face, then grabbed it with their left one and bowed. It reminded Jihoon a little of ‘Showtime, NU’EST time!’, but it was only a passing resemblance.

Jonghyun was sitting smack-dab in the center, sitting on the couch with Samuel sitting at his feet. Seonho was all but sitting on Minki’s lap, who in turn leaned on Jonghyun and patted the maknae over the head, with Hyeongseop sitting cross-legged in front of Minki’s legs. Dongho sat on Jonghyun’s other side with Sewoon cuddled close to him, Haknyeon leaning on the main vocalists’ legs as he sat on the floor in front of them.

They looked relaxed, but Jihoon spotted a mischievous gleam in Samuel’s eyes and shuddered a bit. He had a nasty feeling about this.

“ _Hello, our dear fans!_ ” Jonghyun waved at the camera, smiling softly. “ _I’m sorry we kind of left you without hearing much from us in the past month, but we had to prepare the best stage for you. Hope you didn’t miss us too much!_ ”

 _Yeah, wish away, Jonghyun-hyung,_ Jihoon snorted as he spotted the chat basically blowing up with hearts and requests for more frequent appearances.

“ _Speaking of the stage though… Wanna One is debuting today!_ ” Minki waved at the camera. “ _Those brats didn’t give us the demo of their debut song, so we’re still in dark about what they’re doing._ ”

“ _Should you call them brats on broadcast, Minki-hyung?_ ” Seonho pouted at the older idol.

 “ _I’ll call them whatever I want,_ ” Minki waved it off. “ _They kept sending us all those little snippets and then told us we have to wait! I say they’re brats._ ”

“ _Now Minki-ya, don’t be so salty,_ ” Dongho chuckled. “ _It’s not like we didn’t pay the favor back._ ”

Oh boy, did they pay them back, and they did so with interest. Jihoon groaned, remembering all those little snippets Sewoon and Dongho ‘accidentally’ sent over to them; not to mention a short video of Samuel and Jonghyun doing hip-thrusts in what looked like a choreo snippet.

Minki just pouted and hugged Seonho, refocusing to camera.

“ _Anyway, I hope you’ll watch their debut kindly and show them your support too!_ ”

“ _Isn’t it weird, telling our fans to support other idols?_ ” Haknyeon asked idly, tapping finger rhythmically against his knee. “ _What if they snatch our fans away?_ ”

“ _Aww, I’m sure they won’t!_ ” Samuel giggled. “ _Besides, didn’t NU’EST hype up SEVENTEEN like this at their debut? Told everyone to expect great things and to support them?_ ”

“ _We did,_ ” Jonghyun nodded. “ _And they showed us a lot of support too, before we joined Produce 101. In fact, our title track and one B-side is co-written by Bumzu-hyung, Dongho and Woozi-ah._ ”

“ _Ah yeah, Woozi-sunbae is really something else,_ ” Sewoon chuckled. “ _We all pitched in to help create this album, but Dongho-hyung and Woozi-sunbae really did most of the work._ ”

“ _He really did help a lot,_ ” Jonghyun smiled. “ _But Sewoon-ah was also a great help, and Samuel-ah worked hard on choreography with our choreographers._ ” He led the rest of the group in congratulatory clapping, with said individuals bowing and flushing.

“ _But, we kinda got side-tracked. You guys already managed to get a name!_ ” Jonghyun grinned boyishly. “ _You really show us so much love… so we decided to give you something special for that._ ”

“ _This is all for you,_ ” Dongho picked up the box behind the couch and distributed the handheld mics. “ _You made us superstars. You carry our name everywhere._ ”

“ _And since you’re our stars, we named you Light,_ ” Jonghyun opened his arms. “ _For you are the light that made us shine._ ”

Jihoon cooed at the sweet name ( _definitely a step from Wannables,_ his treacherous mind whispered, and he told it to shut up), and immediately had to check his heart rate – because Be One started _singing_ , and he _couldn’t take it._

_How nice it would be to see each other_

_Again, and lay underneath the same star_

Dongho opened the song, accompanied by soft piano notes ringing in utter silence.

_So stay with me, if only in your thoughts,_

_And give me your strength to go on._

Sewoon followed up, latching onto the unseen harmony and complimenting the melody before the beat hit in.

_I’m screaming in the void, hoping you will hear me_

_If only we could be together, I miss you a lot_

Minhyun, who had slithered close like a ghost, sniffed at Jonghyun’s rap, violently reminding everyone of the painful separation NU’EST went through.

_I hope you’re okay, cos I can’t give you a call,_

_Are you watching me? Look, for you I’m being strong_

Daehwi clutched the phone harder, and Woojin gulped as they heard Youngmin’s rap.

“You bet your ass we’re watching you, _hyung_ ,” Woojin murmured.

_I wanna, wanna turn back the time we had_

_Memories that fall like stars,_

_I’m wandering and swaying_

_In these twinkling times_

“Oh, Muel- _ah_ ’s and Seonho- _ya_ ’s voices really works well together,” Sungwoon blinked during the duo’s harmonizations. “They sound so beautiful.”

Daniel shushed his _hyung_ as the instrumental built and dropped into the chorus. Here, Jihoon decided to forget where he was, and the fact he had make-up on: he let the tears fall as the nine boys on the screen sang in sync.

**_A star has fallen tonight,_ **

**_And I have made a wish as it fell:_ **

**_If only, if only you could hear my voice,_ **

**_I have so much to tell you, cos I miss you._ **

‘I miss you’ appeared in blocky Hangul at the top of the screen, followed by ‘Be One’.

Jihoon had a sudden urge to call Minki _hyung_ or Jonghyun _hyung_ and _scream_ at them. Why were they doing this shit to him? Who gave them permission to tear his heart out, shatter it, and then re-glue it into a shape Jihoon could only call ‘broken’?

How dared they?

Lost in his thoughts, he nearly missed Haknyeon’s lines.

“Holy -”

“Is Haknyeon _hyung rapping_?” Guanlin looked shell-shocked, Taiwanese accent muddling his words.

_Will you call me tonight? I wanna hear your voice,_

_Maybe you don’t miss me, but I think of you a lot_

To be fair, it wouldn’t be considered a full-out rap, closer to lyrical rap than anything else, but it was a huge step away from Haknyeon’s comfort zone. However, he nailed his lines perfectly, slotting into the flow of the song seamlessly.

_I know I had stayed silent and went with the flow,_

_It was easy back then, but now I regret it like you wouldn’t know_

_Speak of the devil,_ Jihoon gaped at Hyeongseop’s rap. This… this was slowly becoming a trainwreck. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted all of his group members dabbing tears away with their shirt sleeves, coughing without any reason and turning away from the screen.

Who the hell wrote that song? Jihoon wanted to have _words_ with them!

_So many words we haven’t said out loud_

_Because we had to be something we’re not_

_But in the end, no words can tell you_

_How I feel right now._

Minki and Sewoon took command of the last part before the chorus hit again, and Jihoon saw tiny tears in their eyes. Oh boy… he did not look forward to ending.

And just like he predicted, Dongho and Sewoon teamed up for the final two lines, and Jihoon was officially _gone._ Dead™. Off in the land of being unapologetic Light.

_I have something to tell you…_

**_I miss you._ **

And his members were in no better state.

* * *

 

“ _Energetic_ , huh?” Samuel parked himself on Aron’s lap, from where he could easily watch music video for Wanna One’s debut song. “Jihoon- _hyung_ and Dongho- _hyung_ should be fortune tellers.”

“They’ve been around for way too long, Samuel- _ah_ ,” Aron snorted, mussing up his _dongsaeng_ ’s hair. “They know what public likes and wants. Think you can beat them?”

“Sure!” Samuel clenched his fist.

Aron _hyung_ decided to let Be One debut a week after Wanna One, to avoid too many overlaps and comparisons between the brother groups. Personally, Samuel did not agree with the strategy, but Aron reminded him how important quick first wins were to temporary groups.

_We need to get your name out there, and if that means letting Wanna One debut first and get their first win before us, so be it._

Although his words sounded very confident, Samuel could spot nerves in the elder. He wanted to make sure Be One would not end up like NU’EST: strong debut, followed by string of unsuccessful releases, shady deals, ridiculously long absences from Korea and horrors experienced abroad.

Samuel got it. He really, really did. He knew what it felt like, being shoved in the darkness and shadiness of the industry and never truly getting their spotlight, not being appreciated for all the hard work you’ve done. However, he had faith in the popularity of _Produce 101_. They may never reach the same heights as Wanna One, the chosen ones, but their Lights were definitely going to make them fly.

He just knew it.

“That’s the spirit,” Aron chuckled, gently shooing Samuel off of his lap. “Now go and bother someone else, I have a tele-conference with the companies in fifteen minutes.”

Samuel scrambled off and rushed to the kitchen, where Jonghyun and Seonho were making _kimchi_ fried rice for dinner. The day of their own debut was coming closer, and everyone dealt with their nerves in different ways. Dongho, Haknyeon and Sewoon shut themselves in their room, installing makeshift sound mufflers (read: heavy blankets they stole from the big wardrobe) to practice singing, with Minki joining in whenever he wasn’t tossing Samuel and Hyeongseop out of the practice room. Youngmin was doodling all the time, sometimes producing new rap lines for the songs Samuel could only guess would appear on their next – and probably last – album, and Jonghyun stress-cooked and fretted over everyone even more than usual.

“Samuel- _ah_ , could you do me a favor and smoke everyone out of their dens? Dinner time,” Jonghyun asked, delicately shifting rice from the wok into the bowls, with Seonho laying out the chopsticks, glasses, a jar of plain water and several bottles of _soju_ on the table.

Samuel complied with the request, pulling all his group mates together to eat, resorting to actual pulling in Minki’s case: the elder refused to get out of the bed otherwise, and Samuel knew better than to invoke Kim Jonghyun’s wrath on himself.

“Mmm, kimchi fried rice,” Sewoon was basically drooling over the dish. “Thank you, Jonghyun _hyung_!”

“Hey, I helped too!” Seonho swatted the older boy’s hand as he tried to start without everyone else. “Wait for everyone to get here!”

“But I wanna try _hyung_ ’s kimchi rice,” Sewoon pouted. “Why are you denying me _hyung’s_ food, Seonho- _ya_?”

Seonho stopped, unsure of himself, and Samuel butted in before his _dongsaeng_ fell for it.

“No, Sewoon _hyung_ , you will wait just like the rest of us.”

“Argh, Samuel- _ah_!” Sewoon’s shoulders slumped. “Why are my _dongsaengs_ ganging up on me?”

“Get used to it,” Dongho snorted, walking out of the toilet. “Trust me, that’s the only thing you can do at this point.”

“Was man-handling me to the ground your version of ‘getting used to it’?” Samuel jabbed, snickering at the soft flush on his _hyung_ ’s face.

“ _Yah,_ you’re really become mouthy little brat, Samuel- _ah_ ,” Dongho leaned over to muss up his hair. “What in the blazes did Jihoon- _ah_ and Cheollie teach you?”

“Nothing you guys wouldn’t have done,” Samuel ducked under the hand, eliciting a round of giggles and snorts.

“He’s got you there, Dongho,” Aron snickered, sitting down at last. “Damn it, Jonghyun, this looks amazing. I really need some good food after the conference.” Having said that, he grabbed his chopsticks and started eating, giving everyone else the cue to do the same.

“Who gave you hard time now, Aron _hyung_?” Minki tilted his head, not starting his own bowl just yet.

“Oh, just YMC being stingy about the promotion schedule – unlike them, every other company has a string of successful artists, so they feel like they have something to prove,” Aron shook his head, and Samuel could see the tiredness seeping into his voice. “Did you know they tried to stick Jonghyun, Seonho and Dongho with five non-music show appearances in the next two weeks?”

“Huh?!”

“And when I told him to stuff it, the guy had the nerve to tell me Daniel, Jihoon and Minhyun will be doing the same, so why wouldn’t those two?” Aron was slowly getting himself worked up again, and Samuel had to fight down the urge to curse in English and Spanish. “Thank God _Pledis_ and _Cube_ called his bullshit before I did – I would’ve cursed them to hell and back and lost my job.”

“Don’t you dare do that, _hyung_ ,” Youngmin waved his chopsticks at the older man. “I need my namesake here to keep things somewhat sane with Jonghyun _hyung_.”

That cooled the tensions significantly, and the dinner continued in better spirits.

* * *

  
“Is it time?” Jisung peeked into the living room, holding a bowl filled with snacks.

“Ten more minutes!” Guanlin hopped up from his perching place on the couch to grab the bowl and set on the table.

The entire Wanna One congregated around the table and couch in front of the large LCD TV screen, anxiously waiting for Be One’s debut exhibit. Their borther group had already spoiled an entire song from the upcoming album (one of B-sides, _Miss You_ , as their official Instagram post later revealed), but the secret of the title track was more than preserved. Of course, the music video was already out for almost two hours, but no-one dared to watch it before they got to see the live performance.

Minhyun in particular looked very agitated, with Daniel and Guanlin sitting right beside him to calm him down, and Jisung made a note of the situation. As a leader, it was his responsibility to take care of his members, even when they constantly deny needing help.

Daehwi, Jihoon, Jinyoung and Woojin huddled together as well, the older trio squishing Daehwi between them: Jinyoung hugging their youngest from behind, and Jihoon and Woojin on each side, with blankets around them. Seungwoo sat above them on Daniel’s side and Sungwoon and Jaehwan perched themselves on Guanlin’s side, completing the image of their little make-shift, mish-mash family – they had even left Jisung a spot on Seungwoo’s left, which was the place closest to the TV and the laptop one of the younger boys connected with HDMI cable to the TV.

Really, anyone would be fooled by the image they presented: happy, closely-knit boys ready for a movie night. Unfortunately, Jisung was more than aware of the microscopic cracks and rifts in the band, and just how unstable they were. Public may have eaten up the fable of Wanna One boys quickly clicking together like they were always meant to be, but the harsh reality was some of the members simply had difficult time adjusting.

Seungwoo and Daniel had difficult time connecting to people other than each other, often retreating in their and Jisung’s room or running off to have private chats with Minhyun.

Sungwoon bent over backwards trying to be helpful, to prove he was worthy of that eleventh spot, that he was just as good of a team member as Jonghyun, or Dongho, or Sewoon would’ve been.

Jaehwan was still insecure bundle of nerves, questioning his fourth place and often running to Minhyun and Jisung for consolation.

Guanlin and Daehwi worked harder than everyone else, still hurt and scarred by mean comments they had gotten during and just after Produce 101, often crying themselves to sleep after a day of subpar rehearsals and failed exams.

Woojin had nearly sprained an ankle after staying for too long in the practice room to perfect a small movement, and Jinyoung worked his ass off, trying to catch up to everyone’s vocal prowess and getting sore throat several times.

Jisung himself was not blameless either – the number of hours he spent actually sleeping and now secretly being worried out of his mind in the last months was alarming. Minhyun, the most experienced one, was just as bad – Jisung was certain that between two of them, they couldn’t fill the quota for one person’s normal sleep hours on a good day, never mind the bad one.

However, they managed to go on – supporting each other, helping through everything, taking hits and scoldings for each other. Now, they just needed to relax for a few hours, since they were not set to appear on _The Show_ tomorrow and enjoy Be One’s debut exhibit.

“It’s starting, it’s starting!” Guanlin bounced a little on the couch, and Jisung focused on the TV screen. The nine ‘reject’ boys, as the Pann unkindly called them, sat in a half-circle, waving at their screaming fans, sending them hearts and posing slightly for them. At the farthest left end sat Hyeongseop and Samuel, followed by Minki and Seonho. On the other side, Sewoon was the farthest away from the centre, then Dongho, Youngmin and Haknyeon, with Jonghyun in the centre. While Be One did not operate on the system of center, the message of both support and respect for their leader did not pass over Jisung’s head.

After about half an hour of posing, answering questions and embarrassing each and every member (Jisung knew about most of their embarrassing habits and stories, but some _had_ surprised the heck out of him – like Minki’s tendency to dance naked in his room and Seonho forgetting to close the bathroom door when going to toilet!), the boys announced their title track and got up to perform.

“ _With Me?_ ” Daehwi leaned closer, their baby composer ready to take note of the song. “Interesting… particularly since Woozi- _sunbae_ made it. I thought it’d be something more in line with either _Ulgo shipji anha_ or _Akkinda_.”

“Huh?” Most of the members were confused, Jisung included.

“ _Ulgo shipji anha – Don’t wanna cry –_ is a dramatic, EDM-heavy piece,” Daehwi explained impatiently. “ _Akkinda_ – _Adore U_ – is more bubbly and cute. This one sounds senti – _oh._ ”

 _Oh_ , Jisung thought wildly as the bass hit in, _was an understatement_. Just like _Miss You_ , the chorus was sang  by everyone, but the rhythm was far more upbeat. In fact, one could almost say the text and melody were a subtle provocation to everyone: from Youngmin and Jonghyun’s cheeky _Yo, Be One here/ Second-rate, second-chance/ But I don’t care/ The only thing that I need /Is you being here with me!_ to Sewoon’s and Dongho’s openly teasing _Are you with me?_...

“Damn, these guys need to be stopped! What the hell was _that?!_ ”

Woojin’s exclamation fit Jisung’s mood perfectly.

_What in all-living blazes was **that**?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The line distribution for With Me, for those curious: 
> 
> The sun has not woken me yet - Seonho
> 
> My heart still sleeps, cos you're not with me - Seonho
> 
> But I believe in star showers - Minki
> 
> And whispers of eastern winds - Minki
> 
> That you're coming soon - Samuel
> 
> To be by my side - Samuel
> 
> Turn the lights on and get ready - Haknyeon
> 
> Our era's dawn is here - Haknyeon
> 
> I wanna meet you, in the daylight, - Hyeongseop
> 
> Face to face, my heart with yours, - Hyeongseop
> 
> Beating in sync, no need for words - Sewoon/Dongho
> 
> Be with me, make me shine
> 
> So everyone can see me even with their eyes closed
> 
> Don't send me away, keep me close to your heart
> 
> Until the stars go out, shine with me
> 
> Are you with me? - Dongho/Sewoon
> 
> Ey yo, Be One here - Youngmin
> 
> Second-rate, second-chance, - Jonghyun
> 
> It's what they say, but I don't care -Youngmin
> 
> The only thing that I need - Jonghyun
> 
> Is you being here with me - Jonghyun/Youngmin
> 
> Let me in your heart and I will light your day - Dongho
> 
> But I need you to trust me, and see me as I am - Dongho
> 
> Turn the lights on and get ready, - Sewoon
> 
> For you'll do everything - Sewoon
> 
> I wanna meet you, hear your voice - Jonghyun
> 
> Your love, baby, makes me strong - Jonghyun
> 
> Stay with me, no need for words - Minki/Haknyeon
> 
> Be with me, make me shine
> 
> So everyone can see me even with their eyes closed
> 
> Don't send me away, keep me close to your heart
> 
> Until the stars go out, shine with me (2x)
> 
> So be with me, even when the lights go out... - Seonho/Samuel
> 
> Are you with me? - Dongho/Sewoon
> 
> The lines with no names next to it are the chorus, which is sang together


	13. Fans and fanmeets (Jaehwan, Jonghyun, Jihoon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanna One gets a first taste of sasaeng fans, Be One holds their first fanmeet, and Pann goes batshit over Aron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... I wanna cry. Damn NU'EST for plucking my heartstrings today. 'A song for you' - really guys? No need to ham it up, we've already prepped all the tissues! And those teasing Vlives - rapping gods Minki and Minhyun, Minhyun and Aron Vlive with them singing, JBaekRen vlive... urgh, my LOVE heart is getting so well fed these days!  
> Also, Dokyeom? DOKYEOM???? Like, I know you're a literal sunshine who I'm honored to share my birthday with, and that your visuals are underrated AF, but was that really _necessary_? For those who are blissfully unaware, Dokyeom got cast as Arthur in Xcalibur musical, and they revealed his poster today... 'nuff said.  
> Plus, the Caratland footage is _dangerous_. Lee Jihoon came for my bias list, **hard**. He is THIS close to toppling Jeonghan off the top spot for Seventeen... uUuUgh.  
> P.S. I promised when I updated my Diamond Heart AU (dark SVT&NU'EST series) I'll do an update around 15th, but thanks to lovely [ Flamie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamie), my faithful reader and commenter, I managed to put it out today!

The first thing that should’ve told Jaehwan this wasn’t going to be an ordinary day was the package they had received on the doorstep. It was unmarked, with no return address or the receiver on it – meaning it was hand-delivered by someone who knew who lived in Suite 00.

“A package?” Jihoon stretched out to take it off Jaehwan’s hands, but Minhyun and Sungwoon beat him to it, grabbing the package and tossing it aside.

“Don’t you _dare_ open this shit,” Minhyun snarled.

“ _Never, ever_ open something you haven’t ordered or someone else here had,”Sungwoon shook his head, eyeing the package like he wanted to burn it on the spot. “ _Sasaengs_ get crazy – like, seriously crazy.”

“Should I call manager?” Jisung hovered anxiously at the doors to their living room.

“Please, _hyung_ ,” Minhyun told with a hint of desperation. “We need to get rid of this ASAP. _Aish_ , we shouldn’t have even taken it in – who knows how far have those fans gone to get us… whatever is in there.”

“But.. if it’s a gift from fans, shouldn’t we accept it?” Guanlin looked mightily confused, and to be frank, so was Jaehwan. Surely other idols received fan mail? He had sent it himself before: so why were his _hyungs_ overreacting?

“LinLin,” Minhyun sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No one sends fan mail straight to idols’ dorms. They send it to the company, to the managers, but never directly to us. Only _sasaengs_ do that, and you’re better off with never meeting or talking to them.”

“ _Sasaeng_ fans already?” Seungwoo snorted, watching the package carefully. “Well, I can’t say I didn’t expect that to happen, though it’s quite early for that.”

“Did someone mention s-word?” Danile limped into the living room, groaning as he stretched his left leg. He had overworked himself last night, Jaehwan knew, and woke up complaining about muscle ache, stiffness and soreness in the leg. “God _dammit_ this hurts. But yeah. S-word?”

“Our first freaky package arrived,” Seungwoo lazily pointed to the offending item, and Jaehwan took a step back. The man’s expression promised _nothing_ good. “Ready to start a little bonfire with it?”

“Heck yes,” Daniel grinned, all teeth and no humor. “Anyone wants to join in?”

“Wait!” Jaehwan stepped forward, blocking the path for Woojin and Daehwi. “Can I see what’s inside before we burn it?” The incredulous stares made the vocalist shrink back a bit, cursing inwardly. “I-I mean, I’ve heard how bad those can get, but I’ve never seen anything like this… just so we can recognize them afterward on our fanmeets?”

The silence that fell on the eleven of them was suffocating, and Jaehwan wanted nothing more than to rewind back time and take back what he said. Or to crawl into a hole and die there.  Whatever was more available to him right now.

“Why not?” Jisung proposed gently. “Like Jaehwan- _ah_ said, we need to know which gifts we can trash on the spot, and only Minhyun- _ah_ and Sungwoonnie know exactly what to look out for. Besides, manager _hyung_ will be coming soon, so we’ll be getting rid of it soon anyway.”

“I guess…” Sungwoon still looked quite put out. “Although I don’t even know why you would even want to do that.”

“I want to!” Guanlin instantly volunteered, going over to the package and sitting on the couch to unpack. Jaehwan fought with himself for a second before joining him, and Daehwi, Woojin and Jihoon also sat on the couch.

Carefully removing the tape that held the box shut, Guanlin opened the flips of the box to unveil a  spiral-bound notebook, a smaller tin box which content rattled when picked up, and a stack of envelopes addressed to every member.

“Huh… ” Daniel went over to untie the rope hodling the stack of envelopes together. “Not too creepy for the first one.”

“You still haven’t looked inside,” Minhyun snorted. “Jieqiong – Kyulkyung, or Pinky if you would - called me – well, technically she called Dongho, but I was there too – to tell about the creep that made a notebook with creepy messages about how much he loves her, how he wanted to go on a date with her… you get the picture.”

Jaehwan shivered at the image, suddenly afraid to open the innocent notebook sitting on his lap. Who knew what kind of messed up things this one held inside? But he had not come this far just to chicken out. Besides, if the things end up too creepy, he can always cuddle up to Minhyun and claim it was because he was an idiot who was too curious and was now scarred for life.

It was a solid plan, Jaehwan thought with relief, and opened the notebook.

“Oh?”

The first couple of pages were plastered with the images of Wanna One: _Dispatch_ photos, fansites’ photos, screenshots from _Produce_ … and all of them were circled in hearts, flowers and had sketches of chibi animals on the margins.

Around the middle of the notebook was when Jaehwan started feeling nauseous. _Dispatch_ had done a joint photoshoot of Be One and Wanna One a week ago, and the photos were released two days ago to commemorate Wanna One’s first win and Be One’s debut stage. Those photos were also inside, but… with corrections.

The photo of Jaehwan, Dongho and Sewoon was mauled with red pen, covering Be One’s vocalists’ faces. Samuel’s face was inked over with black permanent marker in his picture with Woojin, and Minki’s part of the photo with Daehwi was missing, torn in half and only Daehwi’s half stuck in. Hyeongseop and Youngmin were mostly spared, only having colorful X’s over their faces in their photo with Guanlin, and Haknyeon and Seonho were also blotted out in their photo with Jihoon, Jinyoung and Seungwoo.  Jonghyun’s, Daniel’s and Jisung’s photo was the worst though: Jonghyun’s face was scratched out, and curses were written in blood-red Sharpie all over his part of the photo.

“ _Hyung_?” Daehwi looked just like he sounded: ready to hurl at any moment. “I’m not feeling okay~”

“Shit, I knew this would happen,” Minhyun cursed and led the _maknae_ away.

Unknowingly, that saved him from seeing the final picture – the joint photo of Be One and Wanna One. Jaehwan remembered how much they had fun during that shoot: so many NGs due to someone cracking up out of nowhere, so many switches because no one was sure how to include twenty people in the shot without singling out anyone or making anyone feel left out. The final photo had been worth it, though: they looked amazing, happy and cheerful.

This photo, however, made Jaehwan toss the notebook on the other side of the room: Be One had their faces shot off with what looked like a shotgun, and vivid crimson paint was splattered all over the photo.

“What the actual -” Sungwoon didn’t have time to finish his curse – Guanlin nearly threw up his lunch, and Woojin and Jihoon were green as hell, so he had to wrangle them into the bathroom.

Jaehwan swore to himself in that moment: he was NEVER looking at that sort of shit again. Ever.

How could their ‘fans’ do this to them? How?!

“Because they’re not thinking, that’s how,” Daniel snarled, bear-hugging Jaehwan. “Ignore them, Jaehwannie.”

Jaehwan wasn’t sure he could do that.

* * *

 

“Damn it,” Jonghyun cursed, slamming his fist against the table. Aron had just told him what had happened to their brother group, and he was not in the mood to act his _Angel Leader_ just yet. He needed to _vent_.

How could this happen? The tensions between Wannables and Lights had been fairly obvious and expected (and even his LOVEs had gotten dragged into the fray when a fraction of Wannables decided to badmouth NU’EST and Aron, who was currently the only member not actively promoting), but to sink to this level? That was beyond despicable.

Jonghyun knew idols got hate-mail all the time – heck, he and the rest of NU’EST had helped Seungcheol, Jihoon and Soonyoung burn them before anyone in SEVENTEEN managed to see them, and Jieqiong and Nayoung were currently doing the same for Pristin. But to send something so terrible to your idols, and think that would cheer them up or make their day? Honestly, logic circuits for some people seemed to be a non-existing concept when idol industry came into the equation.

“Jonghyun- _ah,_ feeling better?” Aron peeked inside, dressed to the nines and looking the part of responsible manager. Be One’s first fanmeeting was about to start, but Jonghyun just couldn’t calm down. “I got permission to stand next to you and monitor all gifts they give you, just in case.”

Jonghyun took a deep breath before settling down and nodding. Their first fanmeeting was a big milestone, and the kids were all excited. Minki and Dongho, while a lot more muted, also looked ready to jump out of their skin with nerves – they absolutely couldn’t screw this up.

“Ready everyone?” Jonghyun put on his customary half-smile as he entered the room where the rest of Be One waited for him to cool off after Aron delivered the news.

“I’m scared,” Seonho muttered, only to be dragged into the bear hug courtesy of Dongho.

“You’ll be okay, we’ll keep an eye on you,” the _Sexy Bandit_ promised their _maknae_. “And Aron’s here too, nothing bad will happen.”

“Let’s go! Be One, hwaiting!”

“Hwaiting!”

Wth those words, Jonghyun walked into the blinding flashes of professional and amateur cameras of fans and fansites. After lining up his boys, they made a quick introduction:

_Bright and bold, Be One! Annyeonghaseyo, Be One inmida!_

To the screeching of the audience.

“Hello everyone, it’s good to finally meet you!” Jonghyun slipped into his adorable Onibugi persona, hamming it up only slightly for the fans. “Are you guys excited?” The cheers went from loud to deafening. “Yeah, we too – we barely slept last night!”

It was the whole truth – they had almost zero sleep last night, so worried about how their debut stage went and how it would be received. Thankfully the reviews from the industry were good, and the fans ate everything up, and the sponsors had already started flooding Aron’s phone with calls about endorsements and further promotions.

“Okay, can you calm down, please?” Jonghyun requested, and the Lights went silent, hanging onto his every word. Jonghyun would be lying if he said he didn’t adore the feeling of it. “Now, I want you guys to be really, really good today – our babies are pretty timid, and we don’t want to scare them before you even get to talk to them, right?”

“I’m not a baby!” Seonho protested in unison with Samuel, grabbing a mic from the staff to share.

“I know – I was talking about Dongho and Aron,” Jonghyun winked at the rapidly blushing boys as Be One erupted into titters and cackles. “Oh, you guys probably haven’t met him – can you please greet properly my brother from another mother and saintly manager Kwak Aron?”

Lights clapped and squealed, some of them even shouting ‘Aron _oppa_ , _sarangheyo_!’, and Aron became redder than a setting sun.

“ _Yah_ , you guys embarrassed him…” Jonghyun laughed, deciding to tease his fans a little. “And right after you promised to behave! Hmm… should we cancel this fanmeet?”

A joint chorus of _NO!_ greeted him, and Jonghyun felt his heart swell.

“Ah, okay then – but can you promise to me you’ll behave?” Nods went all around. “Great! We’ll talk with you first, and then we’ll show off a bit for you guys – is that a deal!”

_YES!_

“Perfect!”

While he was talking with the crowd, the rest of Be One took their seats, with Aron hovering next to Sewoon who sat at the beginning of the line. Jonghyun joined them, and for a short while, the fanmeet proceeded as normal – questions about some personal details of their life and personality, gifts, flustered girls and occasionally boys talking with them and holding their hands.

Then, about twenty minutes in, a loud yelp interrupted the familiar buzz. Jonghyun instantly twisted in his seat to see what was happening, and promptly burst out laughing, thanking fates he currently had no fan sitting in front of him to distract him from the view.

Aron, who had at one point sat at the table to relieve his legs, was again red in the face, trying to refuse a flower wreath from an insistent fan.

“- shouldn’t you give it to Be One?”

“But Aron _oppa_ ,” the girl whined, pressing the flower crown into Aron’s hands, “I followed NU’EST since they debuted, and I missed your _Canvas_ fanmeet because I was in Hong Kong visiting my family, but I really wanted to give you this! Please, Aron _oppa_ …”

Jonghyun’s lungs felt ready to give up on him, he laughed so hard, and Be One and every fan who could hear the fangirl followed suit. Aron, fire-truck red and embarrassed as all living hell, accepted the crown and quickly signed both the _Canvas_ and _Let’s Go (And Be One)_ , Be One’s debut album.

Oh hell if Jonghyun was letting his _hyung_ live this down, ever! Also, he really couldn’t wait to talk with that fan – she just made his day!

* * *

 

_[+2531, -26] Heol… Heol. Be One’s fanmeet was so good! They’re all so handsome and cute…_

_[+1563, -2] OMG, there was a LO/\E there, and she deadass gave Aron oppa a flower crown and got him to sign both NU’EST and Be One albums!_

_[+1423, -1] [150817175235.jpg] Woooow, Aron oppa looks so good! He really has an idol visual!_

_[+856, -35] I went to Wanna One’s first fanmeet in my friend’s place (she’s a Wannable, and she had an important exam that day, so I took pictures for her) and I went today to Be One’s fanmeet (I’m a Light). You could really see the difference between them – Be One oppas looked more relaxed, and everything was so fun! There were a couple of really rude fans, sure, but I’ve seen a lot worse in Wanna One’s fanmeet… can we stan fans too?_

_[+542, -2] Jonghyun oppa looked so good today… ah, he was so cute and attentive! And wow, Minki oppa and Hyeongseop oppa are even more charming in person! Who do I stan, please help meee_

_[+1986, -250] Who would’ve thought ‘reject boys’ were so talented and handsome and charming… Dongho oppa really looked the best today, but Samuel oppa and Haknyeon oppa were so cute when they posed with Minki oppa! [150817175842.jpg] This is blurry, but I’m sure fansites have HQ pics of this moment!_

Jihoon grinned and closed Pann. Everything was slowly falling into the place for his brothers – now, it was time for him to focus on his own group. Be One were perfectly capable of doing their own thing from now on. Although, what he wouldn’t give to record a special song with Dongho, Seungkwan, Dokyeom and Sewoon…


	14. Money and trust issues could be deadly (Aron, Daniel, Jaehwan)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aron's experience at Be One's fan-sign... and the beginning for the chaos that is YMC's tax mess reflecting on Wanna One.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I'm terribly late, but my exams this semester have hit me _hard_ \- and I gotta priorise :(
> 
> But I've been keeping up with the news from both NU'EST and SVT (Discord and Reddit are god-sent!), and I'm SCREECHING?!! Bet Bet is so GOOD?? Hell, the entire album slaps! Like, my ears got so spoiled with the songs! Bet Bet and Fine are currently my favorites, but I'd be lying if Bass, Talk about Love, Segno and Different aren't coming for me _flails incoherently like the rest of my Twitter TL_ Am I smelling a wave of new LOVEs and awards? Am I happy we just debuted as 6th member of NU'EST? Heck yeah!
> 
> SVT's tour in Japan overloaded me with cute photos, and I love Seungkwan's newest variety show Mafia Game in Prison! Ah, Jeonghan, Woozi, Hoshi, stop fighting for my attention (I love all of you)...
> 
> Baejin debuted, yey! (have you seen the cute flower arrangement NU'EST sent him, and wrote that 'his hyungdeul' sent him that? all the uwus) AB6IX will be debuting on 22nd of May, also yay! And Jaehwan will be debuting soon too! Wanna One debuting and being employed is my favorite type of concept!
> 
> Also, I've kept up with the darker sides... I'm praying for Daniel to win his lawsuit - he deserves to debut without any worries about his monetary situation. I've seen some nasty insults lobbed from stan Twitter at both SVT and NU'EST (thank God Pledis got their things together with that and decided NOT to settle, and dragged all those a-holes to court), but what hurt me the most was the fancafe situation just before the MV dropped. I wouldn't talk in depth about it here, but seriously, fighting in the fancafe, right where boys can see all those hurtful things you say? I'm disappointed in everyone who participated in that both in cafe and on Twitter. Roros and Nuble akgaes (yeah, those exist, as much as it shames me to admit it)... you guys need to step back and stop being fan for a hot sec, because you're ruining the joy of being fan for us and hurting the boys. Just stop it. And for you who fought by blocking them and posting positive messages, I owe you _everything_. I love you.
> 
> Now, enough chit-chat, and on to the story!

Aron rubbed his ear, aware he was still blushing. Why did Sungsoo- _abeoji_ like to embarrass him like that, and in front of the group he was supposed to manage?

“Ah, Aron- _hyung_ ,” Samuel, that little piece of shit Aron once called his favorite _dongsaeng_ (he was completely cancelled – Guanlin and Daewhi were his new favorites!), was cackling in glee. “You kind of deserved it.”

“Yeah, Aron,” Minki was cracking up, and Aron made a note to smother his former _maknae_ in his sleep after Be One disbands, “that LO/\E just wanted some of your love!”

“ _Yah_ , stop it!”

_Aron had already been nervous that entire day. After YMC rep gave him a call and warned him about what happened to Wanna One, he made a decision to stay even more vigilant. He had even pestered the poor guards at the entrance of the building they were using for the fansign to call him if they notice any behavior that screams over-obsessive or strange. Thankfully, there had been no call, and all Lights in the room were very happy and respectful._

_Minki, Samuel and Hyeongseop had a blast, posing for the fansites and fans and dancing whenever Dongho had had too much of fanservice and hid behind the turning tables to DJ a bit. Jonghyun and Youngmin had an impromptu diss rap contest, where they somehow managed to roast every single member of Be One to the shrieking approval of the audience. Dongho and Sewoon were forced to sing Miss You acapella and alone, and Haknyeon and Seonho pretended to be high-school couple to everyone’s delight._

_However, nothing beat the moment when someone decided to play ‘Yeoboseyo’ on the full blast._

_The screams and demands for a live performance of NU’EST’s track were deafening, and Be One’s hyungs looked a little unsure. Was it okay? Were they going to get slammed for indirectly promoting NU’EST while the group was technically on hiatus? How much of the song did the rest of Be One know?_

_Aron decided to bite the bullet._

_‘Yeoboseyo, babbeun meogomi…’ he sang into the discarded hand mic, doing his best to emulate Minhyun’s high register._

_Thank God, Minki saved him and chimed in as well, helping him deal with the higher notes. One by one, Be One also joined in: Sewoon sharing Dongho’s parts with him, Samuel and Seonho picking up Minki’s, Youngmin, Jonghyun and Hyeongseop battling it out over the rap and Aron’s parts, and Haknyeon gingerly joined him and Minki in sharing Minhyun’s parts. Minki, forever the main entertainer, had even started dancing the choreography somewhere in the middle of second chorus, and people were loudly chanting ‘Yeo-bo-se-yo, Be One here!’ whenever they caught a small pause in the flow of the song._

_Aron’s heart was ready to burst. And then… **that** girl happened._

_He was waiting by Sewoon’s side, carefully watching every fan and noting which of them looked like fansites and which were just the regular fans. The girl waiting in the line was very excited- she had already taken out the flower crown and the CD she wanted signed, and she was hopping from one foot to the other as she waited for Aron to let her come forward._

_Aron finally nodded to her and called her over, and she skipped over to the empty chair in front of Sewoon… but didn’t sit in it immediately. Instead, she turned to him and tried to place the flower crown on his head._

_“H-hey!” Aron fumbled with the crown, taking it off and pressing it back into the fan’s hands. “I’m not an idol right now.”_

_“But oppa,” the girl pouted, again trying to place the crown on his head, and when that failed, she gave him the CD – the uncomfortably familiar pink CD – and the marker. “I want your signature and photo with crown too!”_

_Aron sputtered, aware of Sewoon’s snickering and the eyes on him as every member and fan paused to look at the scene._

_“B-but this is Be One fansign, and you got in by buying Be One album – shouldn’t you give it to Be One?”_

_“But Aron oppa,” the girl whined, pressing the flower crown into Aron’s hands, and he heard Jongyhun laughing, that asshole, “I followed NU’EST since they debuted, and I missed your Canvas fanmeet because I was in Hong Kong visiting my family, but I really wanted to give you this! Please, Aron oppa…”_

_Aron knew his face was probably bright red and shiny underneath the fluorescent lights, and he had not put on any makeup; still, he signed both Canvas and Be One’s album, took the crown and let the fans photograph him to their heart’s content, thinking this would be the end of it… but of **course** it wasn’t._

_As it turned out, quite a few Lights had actually been LO/\Es before, and they went through the pain of obtaining dog ears, bows and various other small accessories for him to pose with. One fan had actually given him a Shiba Inu plushy and made him do the ‘cutey’ math!_

_“Yah, everyone, remember whose fansign it is!” Samuel laughed into the mic he had grabbed at one point. “Should we name ourselves Be One ft. Aron hyung?”_

After that, Sungsoo had called him, asked to put him on the speakerphone and basically gave him a dressing down for being unprofessional and rude… before cooing and calling him ‘adorable’, and ordering him to play it up whenever someone approached him. All of that, in front of his group.

Aron just wanted to die.

“Better start behaving, _hyung_ ,” Hyeongseop snickered, the little one already ruined by his brothers’ insolence. “You’re, like, an unofficial member of our group now!”

Just as Aron’s opened his mouth to shoot back the reply, his phone rang again.

_Incoming call: Withheld._

Aron frowned, debating with should he reply. The unknown numbers he had no trouble answering – the only way to get his phone number was to either contact his parents or for Sungsoo _abeoji_ or one of _Pledis_ staff or idols to give it them. The fact the caller purposefully hid the number… oh, that stank of something way worse than an unfavorable deal with a fashion label.

“ _Yeoboseyo,_ ” Aron answered the phone, turning on the speaker and motioning for Jonghyun to give him the camera the boys used to record themselves and turn it on. “Kwak Aron here. Who am I speaking to?”

“ _Yeoboseyo, Aron-ssi,_ ” a cool, strange female voice spoke on the other side. They sounded very curt and cold, and Aron flinched at it. “ _I am Im Seojeon, from Im &Kim office. Are you alone?_”

“Huh – give me a second.” Aron grabbed the camera from Jonghyun, who looked rather pale and was shaking his head in disapproval. He exited the room and turned the camera on, making sure it recorded audio too. “I’m alone now – sorry, you caught me mid-talk with my group.”

“ _Your group is the exact thing I’d like to talk to you about,_ ” Seojeon said brusquely. “ _And I would appreciate if this call stayed private._ ”

“I see,” Aron hummed, heart slowly climbing up into his neck.

“ _Thank you. You see, Aron-ssi, we found a… financial disparity, in your company’s books. A rather significant one._ ”

“ _Pledis_?” Aron frowned.

That didn’t sound like Sungsoo- _abeoji_. He’d rather place everyone who didn’t break even on temporary hiatus than risk company’s reputation with the investors and sponsors by making shady deals – he had done so, in fact, with both After School and NU’EST.

“ _No, YMC,_ ” the woman told him, and a bolt of ice pierced Aron’s heart.

_What the hell now?_

* * *

 

“No.”

Jisung shook his head, and Daniel wanted to kiss his _hyung_ , spectators be damned. They didn’t have much of voice and sway with YMC, but they did have enough to make it count when the survival of the group was in question.

“But Jisung- _ssi_ -” some bland guy from management Daniel had already forgotten the name of opened his mouth to protest, and Minhyun silenced him with a sharp look.

“No, we won’t shift the company out of blue,” Jisung repeated. “We’re in the middle of comeback cycle, with a dozen scheduled appearances and reality shows! I’m sorry Sihyun- _ssi_ , our switch to YMC subsidiary can wait for a little while.”

“Then you won’t be able to have a full comeback until the end of the award season,” Lee Jaedong swept into the room, startling the napping Jaehwan and Sungwoon. The man looked unusually ruffled and not-put together: his dyed black hair was showing white roots, the tie was tied haphazardly, and several buttons on the blazer were buttoned wrongly.

Jisung bit his lip and looked at his teammates. Daniel could only shrug – he had no clever ideas for this. From the looks of things, neither did the rest of Wanna One. Even Minhyun, the one most experienced and always ready with sharp retort and wise advice, looked out of ideas.

“Then I guess we’ll wait,” Jisung decided after several tense seconds, and Daniel almost fell on his knees as the relief hit him face-first. “We’ll have to work harder to keep our Wannables happy in the meantime.”

Jaedong frowned.

“You are aware Be One will have no such constraints, because they’re currently being managed by _Pledis_ subsidiary?”

Daniel blinked. He had _no_ idea!

All eyes fell on Minhyun, who squirmed a little under the sudden switch of attention from leader to him, but looked them in the eyes and nodded in confirmation.

“The talks are still in progress,” Minhyun explained quietly, “but _Stone Music_ and _Pledis_ have been negotiating ever since NU’EST appeared in _Produce_ for exclusive rights on distribution of music Dongho, Jihoon and Bumzu- _hyung_ made. Although,” here he leveled the YMC manager with one of the coldest stares Daniel had ever seen him use, “I had no idea subsidiary label was also part of the deal. That’s news to me, too.”

Daniel looked between the two, feeling as the tension in the room skyrocketed. There was something going on – something Minyhun knew, or at least was aware of, going on behind the scenes that caused YMC to try and shift them suddenly to their new, still unnamed subsidiary with CJ&M.

If Daniel was going to be frank, he wasn’t surprised at all: Minhyun had a lot of secrets he only hinted at during their time together. Also, the number of people he knew and was in indirect connection with through Aron- _sunbae_ (and holy hell, Daniel had nearly tripped all over himself when he first met the other idol – he was even more kind and charismatic than he expected!) was a stuff of legend in the group.

However, he really could’ve used a little heads-up. Jisung had just blindly denied moving to the sub-label: was the situation so bad that shift would’ve been the kinder and better option?

“Minhyun- _hyung_ ,” Daniel whispered as Jisung and Jaedong started hashing out the nitty-gritty details of when Wanna One would switch labels, “what’s going on?”

“ _YMC_ got visited by lawyers because of tax evasion,” Minhyun muttered, keeping an eye on the rest of the group as they milled around the room, chatting with staff _hyungs_ and _noonas_. “Aron- _hyung_ barely managed to let me know before we got dragged into the meeting – they’re trying to save their face by shifting us.”

“And you didn’t even try to tell us?” Daniel suddenly felt a wave of resentment. Why was Minhyun the only one who had a solid connection to a secondary, more objective point of view and information? Why couldn’t they – he, Seungwoo, Jaehwan, and others – also have someone like that?

It was hardly rational, Daniel knew, but… he couldn’t help himself.

“I told you, I had no time,” Minhyun shook his head, his eyes narrowed in thought. “Besides, even without that information, I had faith in Jisung doing the right thing.”

The level of faith Minhyun had showed in Jisung was not enough to soothe Daniel’s suddenly raised emotions, unfortunately. Nodding and bowing lightly to Minhyun, Daniel stomped off to Seungwoo and stuck himself to his arm.

“What is it _now,_ you over-grown puppy?” Seungwoo sighed, bopping him on the nose in fond exasperation.

“Kitten,” Daniel protested weakly. “I’m not a puppy, I’m a kitten.”

“Not with the way you cling to me and pout whenever you get upset with the world,” Seungwoo laughed quietly. “What had Minhyun said to you to make you this way?”

“He keeps secrets from us,” Daniel complained, gripping Seungwoo’s arm harder even as the other tried to pry him off. “He doesn’t tell us everything.”

“ _I_ don’t tell you everything either, silly,” Seungwoo ran his hand through his hair. “And you’re like, my best friend in here.”

“But his secrets could help us!”

“Just drop it,” Seungwoo advised his hot-headed _dongsaeng_. “He’s the _hyung_ , remember? And our _sunbae_ – he has the obligation to keep us happy without telling us everything. You just have to trust him sometimes.”

“That’s difficult,” Daniel sighed and let his _hyung_ go.

“What part of being an idol isn’t?” Seungwoo snorted.

* * *

 

Jaehwan watched quietly from sidelines as everyone talked, argued and, in Guanlin’s case, clung to Woojin’s sleeve as the other rapper made small talk with Jinyoung and some of stylist _noonas_. Minyhun was the only one who didn’t talk, simply surveying the room like Jaehwan, and Jaehwan could see the other’s mind working overtime as he made note of the atmosphere of the room, where everyone was, until his eyes rested on Jaehwan.

The moment he noticed Jaehwan was alone, Minhyun sling-shot over to him, seating himself next to Wanna One’s main vocal.

“Are you alright, Jaehwan- _ah_?”

“I’m fine, _hyung_ ,” Jaehwan waved away the other’s concern, but he couldn’t help but feel warm. Minhyun’s attention was like a drug to him – he lit up whenever his _hyung_ ’s attention was solely focused on him, and he treasured every moment alone they managed to catch.

“Then why are you sitting alone here?” Minhyun fussed over him, placing his hand over Jaehwan’s forehead. “Are you feeling sick?”

“Really, _hyung_!” Jaehwan took Minhyun’s hand off his forehead, feeling heat rise in his cheeks. “I _just_ told you I’m fine! I just don’t feel like talking to everyone today.”

“Liar,” Minhyun snorted. “You’d chat off everyone’s ear off if we gave you the chance. But if you say you’re fine…”

Minhyun sighed and leaned back. Jaehwan wordlessly reached for his _hyung_ ’s head, guiding him to lay down and place his head on Jaehwan’s lap. He had spotted Daniel stomping off after he talked with Minhyun, and he felt pleasure at being the one Minhyun considered as the person he could relax with and be vulnerable after arguments.

Minhyun was _his_ special _hyung_ , his friend. It was time for Jaehwan to show Minhyun he could trust him with everything bothering him, and that he needed Jaehwan, and Jaehwan only.


End file.
